Shawn Johnson took home the trophy in Season 8 of Dancing with the Stars. And she was one of the youngest competitors ever. Shawn danced with Mark Ballas.
But when Shawn decided to return to DWTS for its All-Stars season, she teamed up with Derek Hough. And it wasn’t smooth sailing this time around.
Fighting in the practice room
On Hannah Brown’s podcast, Better Tomorrow, Shawn shared that she and Derek had some fights while practicing. “Derek in the dance studio? I’m still so close to him. He’s like another brother. I’ve just explained it as pure genius,” Shawn said. “And it’s so hard to keep up with because his brain works so fast and it’s creating and just, I think he is able to see so much more than we are when he’s creating something.”
The gold-medal-winning gymnast continued, “And I remember so many times we would get in arguments because he’d be like, ‘Why aren’t you doing it? Why aren’t you remembering the steps?’”
Shawn added that she would reply, “It’s in your brain. You forgot to teach me.” Burn!
Shawn said that their dance routines were “very hard.” The duo came in second place that season. Kelly Monaco and Valentin Chmerkovskiy took third place. Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani won the mirror ball.
The best of friends
While there may have been disagreements during their season, the two have nothing but love for each other. Derek visited Shawn in February 2023, and they recreated some of their dance moves. They danced the Bhangra and salsa. Shawn posted the videos on Instagram.
Derek will be at the judges’ table for Season 32 of DWTS. The show will air on both ABC and stream on Disney+. So far, Ariana Madix of Vanderpump Rules is the only confirmed contestant.
Dancing With the Stars will air in the fall of 2023 on Mondays at 8/7c on ABC and will be streaming on Disney+.
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT SHAWN AND DEREK BUTTED HEADS? SHOULD DWTS DO ANOTHER ALL-STAR SEASON?
