#Dancing With the Stars: Derek Hough Reveals How Producers Reacted to Tyra Banks’ Elimination Blunder

Derek Hough is the latest member of the DWTS family to open up about that huge elimination blunder.

The moment found new host Tyra Banks telling Monica Aldama and Val Chmerkovskiy to return to the ballroom after telling them they were not in the bottom two. 

Hough said that the producers on the show think Banks handled the situation very well. 

“The producers came up afterwards and were actually thanking Tyra, they were like, ‘Thank you so much, you handled that well. There was a technical situation happening in the booth…’” the new judge said while speaking to Extra. 

“From what I have heard from people, they were happy and relieved… It could have been a lot worse,” he added.

Banks previously dismissed the claim that the incident was her fault, explaining that the issue came down to what was on her cards and what she was being told by producers in her earpiece. 

“The ending was correct. However, the journey was bumpy, based on some technical stuff,” she told USA Today.

“But the world doesn’t see that. The world sees only me. They don’t know that there are computers and that there are technical people… They don’t hear the chaos in my ear and how I have to manage it and smooth it out.”

Still, Banks understood why she was put in the firing line with fans for the mishap. 

“[Viewers] only see me, and so they say, ‘Tyra did something wrong.’ I didn’t do anything wrong, but to them I did,” Banks added at the time.

“And that is the perception that, as a host, you have to live with.

“There was a lot going wrong, and it is my job to not have everyone at home feel as frenetic as it actually is,” she continued, saying that there was a lot of chaos behind the scenes.

Fans were quick to point the finger at Tyra on social media, and it harkens back to the lack of support she has received since being announced as the new host of the series following the firings of Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews. 

Fans have not reacted positively to Tyra’s arrival, with many calling for her to be fired from the series. 

But the numbers don’t lie. The ratings with Tyra as host are up double digits season-to-season. 

What are your thoughts on Derek’s comments?

DWTS continues tonight at 8/7c on ABC. 

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.