ABC’s Dancing With the Stars aired its highly-publicized tribute to Len Goodman on Tuesday.
Goodman died earlier this year at 78.
DWTS alums Maks Chmerkovskiy, Kym Johnson-Herjavec, Tony Dovolani, Karina Smirnoff, Anna Trebunskaya, Edyta Śliwińska, Louis van Amstel, and Mark Ballas returned.
They danced alongside the pros competing on Dancing With the Stars Season 32 with a beautiful tribute for the former head judge.
Goodman brought years of experience to both DWTS and its British iteration, Strictly Come Dancing, and appeared on both shows since their inception.
The emotional footage kicked off with a pre-recorded package featuring the pros speaking about their memories of Goodman.
“Getting criticized by Len was never easy but getting that 10 made it all worth it,” Maks said.
“One of the things I’m most thankful for is being able to judge alongside Len,” Derek said through his tears.
“I was able to spend a little more extra time with him and for that, I’m really thankful.”
Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy choreographed the performance that followed to the tune of Henry Mancini’s classic, “Moon River,” a song and dance style close to Goodman’s heart.
It was an emotionally charged performance that brought the current judges and pro dancers to tears.
While many thought the tribute would air earlier in the season, it seems producers needed some time to bring it together.
Schedules can be challenging to juggle, but it is unfortunate that Cheryl Burke, who retired from the series ahead of the current season, wasn’t asked back.
Burke is up there as one of the most well-known judges, so hearing she didn’t even get an invite is sad.
“For those of you asking if I’ll be a part of Len Goodman’s tribute next week on DWTS, unfortunately, I wasn’t invited however, I’ll be there in spirit and can’t wait to cheer my former colleagues on!” she wrote on Threads.
“Sending love and light to everyone. 🤍🙏🏼 #riplen”
While she was left out of the tribute, Burke shared her own sentiments on Len on Instagram Tuesday evening.
“Mr. Len Goodman. Thank you for being the face of ballroom dancing and always standing by what was right, no matter what,” the former pro dancer said on Instagram.
“You are such a huge part of the reason why Dancing with the Stars is a massive hit as the premise is about teaching celebrities how to ballroom dance, and the word ‘ballroom’ before the word ‘dance’ was all because of your many decades worth of knowledge and experience,” she added.
She also spoke about his “tough love and no B.S. approach” and praised Goodman’s “respect for the art and sport of ballroom dance showed me and millions of people how much you truly cared.”
It’s still unclear why Burke wasn’t asked back.
The star has been in the headlines this month for her interview with Tom Bergeron on her podcast Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans.
Bergeron spoke about how he felt “betrayed” by the producers because of the castings of political figures like Sean Spicer.
The former host felt so strongly about it that he was willing to take a season off but was told that he would be let out of his DWTS contract “if you want.”
Goodman’s cause of death was revealed earlier this after he died on April 22, 2023.
The UK’s Daily Express reported that he died of prostate cancer, which spread to his bones.
Goodman announced his exit from DWTS in November 2022.
“This will be my last season judging Dancing With the Stars,” he said at the time.
“I’ve been on the show since it started in 2005, and it has been a huge pleasure to be a part of such a wonderful show but I’ve decided I want to spend more time with my grandchildren and family back in Britain,” Goodman added in his statement at the time.
“It’s been such a wonderful experience for me and look forward so much to next week’s finale. I’m sure it’s going to be absolutely brilliant,” he concluded.
What are your thoughts on the tribute?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.