Julianne Hough got an earful from a defiant Dancing With The Stars champion on Monday after she said they were ‘not the best dancer’ that year.
The 36-year-old dancing pro turned DWTS co-host set them off after weighing in on Sunday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live.
After Andy Cohen took questions from viewers, Julianne had to weigh on an any past champion that she ‘strongly disagreed with.’
She initially pushed the question onto fellow guest Mickey Guyton, who said she thought Bobby Bones didn’t deserve to win season 27 in 2018, which just happened to be exactly the person Julianne was thinking of.
But on Monday, the 44-year-old country music radio host shared a short video to Instagram clapping back at the two women and defending his controversial accomplishment, which he said made him not just a winner, but the ‘greatest champion’ in DWTS history.
In a video shot in his car, Bobby admitted, ‘I was the worst dancer,’ though she said he took ‘pride’ in that designation.
‘Now I tried as hard as anybody in the history of the show, but I can’t dance now [and] couldn’t dance then,’ he explained.
‘But you know who took down the big evil empire of dance — well it’s not evil or an empire — but me and you,’ Bobby said, addressing voters who put him and his professional dance partner Sharna Burgess ahead of the more talented competition.
‘We did it together,’ he continued, calling himself ‘the greatest champion ever.’
‘I didn’t say I was the greatest dancer but the greatest champion ever because I’m the man of the people,’ the radio host opined. ‘I’m the man that you guys selected.’
He also seemed to take pride in his win, as DWTS’ producers subsequently changed the rules for fan voting to make it harder for a competitor who was clearly less skilled than his costars to win solely based on fan support.
‘I’m a terrible dancer, I was a terrible dancer,’ Bobby continued. ‘But they changed the rules after I left because the fan vote was so good.’
According to Newsweek, the rules changes in the wake of his win prevent fans from voting on dancers in the first episode of the season.
The judges still score dancers, but no one is eliminated at the start of the season.
The rules also lessen the chances of advancing or winning for stars who have massive fans bases.
Previously, fans could vote after the episode had aired, which meant that fans could vote for their favorites even if they hadn’t bothered to see how well they performed.
Now, votes can only be cast while the episode is airing live, which increases the likelihood that voters will have watched the performances, and makes it harder for concerted campaigns to support a particular celebrity competitor.
Despite the impassioned tone of his video, Bobby clarified that he didn’t have any personal animosity toward Julianne, whom he called ‘awesome’ and ‘cool’ and mentioned that he had met a few times in the past.
However, he gave Mickey Guyton a harder time, possibly because of their shared connection to country music.
‘Mickey Guyton, what the…’ he said jokingly before trailing off.
Julianne opened the can of worms when WWHL host Andy Cohen shared a fan’s question about DWTS.
‘Julianne, Carter V. wants to know if there’s ever been a Dancing With The Stars winner that you’ve strongly disagreed with,’ Andy asked.
‘Ummm,’ Julianne said as Mickey reached over and tapped her on the arm while clearing her throat.
‘I think she has an answer for that,’ Julianne said while turning her attention to Mickey.
Andy asked Mickey who she said and Mickey replied, ‘I just said Bobby Bones.’
‘I actually agree with you,’ Julianne said.
‘And I think it’s because of the fan base. It’s all about fan base on that show,’ Julianne said. ‘He was not the best dancer.’
Julianne and Mickey exchanged a high-five for agreeing with each other, but also acknowledged that Bobby was ‘great’ on DWTS.
Radio personality Bobby, 44, won season 27 of DWTS in 2018 with pro partner Sharna Burgess, 39, despite earning lesser judges’ scores than the other finalists, Evanna Lynch, Milo Manheim and Alexis Ren.
Bobby won the Mirrorball Trophy thanks to public voting, angering some fans of the show who felt it should have gone to a more deserving dancer.
Neil Patrick Harris, 51, famously tweeted after the finale: ‘Dancing With the Stars just confirmed why I don’t watch Dancing With the Stars.’
Julianne was on the Bravo talk show to promote her new debut novel Everything We Never Knew. During a ‘One For The Books’ question-and-answer segment Julianne was asked about her best first date.
She recalled going to the Santa Monica Pier on a first date, but couldn’t remember her date’s name.
Andy asked about her first date with ex Ryan Seacrest, 49, and Julianne revealed they went to the Polo Lounge for a private date.
She also was asked about the most challenging experience she’s had to undertake for her career.
‘Whoa, that’s a hard question. You know, I think because I do so many different things, I’m a bit confusing. People are like, what does she do? Does she dance? Is she a singer? Is she an actor? What does she do? But I think I’m a storyteller and I think by nature everything that I do is storytelling, whether it’s through my body, or through my voice, or through my acting, and now through my writing,’ Julianne said.
Julianne will return as co-host of Dancing With The Stars when it returns for season 33 in September on ABC and the Disney+ service.