Derek Hough Lauds Xochitl Gomez's Exceptional 'Dancing With the Stars' Performance in Honour of Len Goodman
Derek Hough gets emotional as he expresses how deeply he believes the late 'Dancing With the Stars' judge, Len Goodman, would have admired Xochitl Gomez's outstanding performance in the semifinals
During the semifinals on Tuesday, November 28, Derek Hough became emotional while praising Dancing With the Stars contestant Xochitl Gomez. After her Waltz with partner Val Chmerkovskiy to "La Vie En Rose" by Lady Gaga, Hough, 38, expressed, "I was thinking about how important this season is, and what the gravity of this season means, because this is the first time that we have the Len Goodman trophy."
"And let me tell you, Len would have absolutely adored that dance," Hough said, fighting back tears. "It was just perfect. Absolutely perfect."
Goodman passed away at the age of 78 in April, less than a year after his retirement from DWTS following season 31. He had been a judge on the reality competition series from 2005 to 2022. In September, the Mirrorball Trophy, DWTS' grand prize, was renamed in honor of Goodman.
Executive producer Conrad Green informed USA Today that the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy will now be raised on Dancing With the Stars in a similar way to the Vince Lombardi trophy at the Super Bowl. "We wanted to make Len a permanent part of this show to honor the importance he’s had to Dancing With the Stars and how much he meant to all of us," he mentioned. Last month, the show paid tribute to Goodman's legacy with a special dance featuring former DWTS pros Maks Chmerkovskiy, Mark Ballas, and Karina Smirnoff, set to Henry Mancini’s “Moon River.”
Before the emotional performance, the performers reminisced about Goodman through a video that had been pre-recorded.
"I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to judge alongside Len, because it allowed me to spend even more time with him," Hough said, becoming visibly emotional.
Len Goodman. Vince Bucci/Getty Images
Hough praised Gomez invoking Goodman, and the other judges also gave positive feedback. Bruno Tonioli told the actress, "There is dancing and artistry. You have an amazing future ahead of you."
Carrie Ann Inaba was moved by the performance and apologized for being "taken aback" when cohost Alfonso Ribeiro reminded her to lock in her score. She told Gomez, “You really touched my heart. It transported me to another world. I just felt like I never wanted it to end and that’s so rare after 32 seasons of watching dances and dances. That was stunning.”
Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy on ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ Disney/Eric McCandless
Gomez was the sole contestant of the evening to earn flawless scores for both of her performances. As the episode came to a close on Tuesday, the 52-year-old Ribeiro and his cohost Julianne Hough revealed the duos that had advanced to the finale, leaving only Gomez and Chmerkovskiy, 37, and Ariana Madix and Pasha Pashkov. "The couples competing in the finale are...both of you!" Ribeiro announced.
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"Indeed, no one will be going home tonight," stated Julianne, 35. "All the remaining contestants have made it to the finale. In a first for the show, we will witness five couples competing for the trophy."
Catch the Dancing With the Stars season 32 finale on ABC, Tuesday, December 5th, at 8 p.m. ET.
