Koko Iwasaki Hits Back at DWTS Scoring After Matt Walsh Elimination

(ABC/Andrew Eccles)

Dancing with the Stars kicked off Season 32 in spectacular fashion. There were some fantastic routines. And some that didn’t impress.

Veep star and comedian Matt Walsh and Koko Iwasaki performed a cha-cha that didn’t land with the judges. Koko played a snake, while Matt was a pest control expert. They danced to Bell Biv DeVoe’s track, Poison. Matt earned a score of four from judges Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Derek Hough. The total of 12 put him in last place on the leaderboard.

Matt was sent home. But Koko has some thoughts about her partner’s early elimination. Entertainment Tonight has the scoop.

Were the judges poison?

“I’m really bummed, you know? Quite disappointed, to be honest. But at the end of the day, this experience with Matt, we went through so much in the last few weeks, and I wouldn’t have changed it for the world,” Koko explained. “I’ve said this so many times, but I would have Matt every season if I could.”

And Koko wasn’t happy about the scores that they received from the judges. “I don’t think that he deserved fours, I’ll be honest. He wasn’t the best dancer, you know, he’s never danced before, it’s something still new,” the DWTS pro stated.

She continued, “But he was really great last night and he worked so hard. He’s been through a lot, we’ve been through a lot together, and our journey was short, but I don’t think he deserved fours last night,” Koko added.

While the judges seemed to feel that the duo’s routine didn’t contain enough cha-cha content, Koko disagreed. “It wasn’t his time yet! He did so well, we did real cha-cha.” After his elimination, Matt thanked Koko and suggested that the judges re-watch the tape of their performance.

Koko would love it if they did. “We did authentic cha-cha steps, he did so many technical things, and of course, you know, [it was] never perfect, but we embraced the imperfections. I think, for what we had time for, he did incredible,” Koko stated. “And it was only just his beginning, and I wish America could’ve seen all the different sides of him, you know? All the different techniques and all the different  flavors he had.”

Matt made the decision to leave DWTS amid the Writers Guild of America strike. When a deal was reached, he returned to the practice room. “When he did walk out, it obviously gave us less time to rehearse, because we couldn’t rehearse during those days, so I think mentally and emotionally it was really hard on us,” Koko stated.

Matt’s performance was entertaining, and I would have liked to see him tackle another dance. And you have to respect a DWTS pro who goes to bat for their partner.

Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.

TELL US – DID MATT DESERVE TO GO HOME? DO YOU RESPECT KOKO FOR DEFENDING MATT?

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