Hilaria Baldwin nearly broke down in tears Tuesday during the Season 34 premiere of Dancing With the Stars, calling her cha-cha debut “very emotional” as her husband Alec Baldwin and three of their children watched from the audience.
Baldwin, 41, danced with partner Gleb Savchenko to Jennifer Lopez’s “Let’s Get Loud” and received a 7 from both Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli for a total of 14 out of 20. After the dance, Derek called it “the best cha cha I have seen from a mother of seven.” Baldwin told the judges she had given up dancing 16 years ago after breaking her hip and described returning to the floor as a “dream come true.” Fans on social media reacted to her performance with praise but also a prediction that she could be the season’s first eliminated contestant.
The premiere was marked by a scoring hiccup that drew fan complaints about Tonioli. Whitney Leavitt, 32, performed a tango with partner Mark Ballas and initially appeared to receive 7s from both Derek and Bruno, shown on their paddles as a combined 14. Producers later revealed that Tonioli had keyed an 8 into the scoring system, producing an official total of 15. Host Alfonso Ribeiro said judges input their scores immediately after each dance and those digital entries are locked regardless of the paddle displayed. Tonioli quipped on air, "They should lock me up." Social media users labeled the error “messy” and criticized the live mistake.
The show also proceeded without longtime judge Carrie Ann Inaba, who announced earlier Tuesday that she would miss the broadcast because she was “feeling quite under the weather.” Inaba, a fixture on the series since its 2005 debut, said in an Instagram statement that she hoped to return the following week. With Inaba absent, the panel of two judges scored performances on a 20-point scale rather than the usual 30.
Other celebrity contestants and their opening scores included Corey Feldman, 54, who received a 4 from Derek and a 5 from Bruno for a total of 9; influencer Alix Earle, 24, scored 13 (7 from Derek, 6 from Bruno); Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles scored 10 (5 and 5); Dylan Efron scored 10 (5 and 5); and Elaine Hendrix scored 12 (6 and 6). The season’s roster also lists Robert Irwin, Jen Affleck, Baron Davis, Scott Hoying, Andy Richter, Danielle Fishel and Lauren Jauregui among the celebrity participants.
The premiere came amid reports of backstage friction and production scrambling. A Daily Mail story cited an unnamed insider who said some professionals have complained about celebrity partners’ commitment levels and that producers had to replace a last-minute dropout. The source described the season as problematic; the report used coarse language to summarize the insider’s view. ABC did not immediately comment on the Daily Mail account.
Dancing With the Stars remains a ratings priority for ABC. Nielsen data cited by media outlets showed the Season 33 finale drew a Live+Same Day total of about 6.36 million viewers, rising to roughly 7.95 million after seven days of viewing across ABC, Disney+, Hulu and other platforms. Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC and streams on Disney+.