Ever since Tyra Banks became the host of Dancing with the Stars back in 2020, fans of the dance-competition series did not hesitate to jump to social media to share their disapproval of what they said to be unfiltered commentary and unpolished hosting skills.
After 28 seasons, DWTS replaced the showâs former hosts, Tom Bergeron (28 seasons) and Erin Andrews (10 seasons), with Banks. It wasnât long before Banksâ hosting style quickly received backlash, and she offered plenty of ammunition: numerous mess-ups, inappropriate and too-personal questions for the contestants, ridiculous, undue outfit and costume changes and what is described as all-around unprofessional and awkward hosting skills.
For season 31 of DWTS, which just concluded, some changes were made. For one, Banks co-hosted the season with Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor and DWTS season 19 champion Alfonso Ribeiro. Another huge change was that for the first time in the showâs history, the program exclusively streamed live on Disney Plus! This meant there wasnât time for Tyraâs outrageous outfit changes (even though she somehow still found time to change a few times). Â
Now that DWTS season 31 has wrapped, itâs time to discuss Banksâ most embarrassing and awkwardest moments this season!
- Shangela’s chicken leg
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During Michael BublĂ© Night of the competition, Drag Queen star Shangela took head judge Len Goodmanâs constructive criticism from the week prior to heart and delivered âcrispier legsâ during her Tango, figuratively and literally. After her performance, Shangela served the judging panel her motherâs homemade crispy chicken legs– a treat she had tucked away in her ball gownâs bustier! Shangela gave an extra chicken leg to Banks, which she then proceeded to eat on live television. She confirmed it tasted good, then awkwardly passed it to the judges encouraging them to try it.Â
- “Papa” Len
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During Elvis Night, Banks forgot to let head judge Len Goodman give his input on Trevor Donovan and Emma Slaterâs Rumba. Upon being corrected, Banks apologized, saying, âI got so excited I forgot about Papa. Papa, I’m sorry.â Before the nightâs elimination, Banks addressed judge Derek Hough saying, âSo if Len is Papa, then you are uncle or cousin or my brother.â Neither Goodman nor Hough enjoyed the name-calling.
- Trevor’s underwear
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During 90âs Night, Trevor and Emma once again fell into Banks’ shenanigans. After dancing a unique Barbie and Ken doll-inspired Salsa, part of Trevorâs outfit purposely revealed the top band of his underwear, which said âTrevorâ on them. Banks was so infatuated with this, she felt the need to touch his underwear band unannounced. She then asked the judges, âDid you guys get a look at these underwear that say âTrevor?ââÂ
- ‘overheated’ tyra
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That same evening, the shirts of male dancers were seemingly flying off! Following Gabby Windey and her partner Val Chmerkovskiyâs performance, Derek Hough playfully discarded his shirt to join the fun. Banks pretended to be so âoverheatedâ by this move that she ran in front of the judges, blocking them from viewers while they were giving the coupleâs scores.Â
- Tyra’s awkward begging
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Moments after the Derek Hough shirt fiasco, Banks started begging people to take their shirts off. Her pleas ended with her begging her co-host Ribeiro to take off his shirt. After this already awkward comment, she stated, âI donât even have what I used to have, yâall. Itâs gone. Itâs over. It was the 90s.âÂ
To make matters worse, this wasnât the first time she begged someone to take their shirt off. She did the same thing to television personality Wayne Brady during Elvis Night when he said he couldnât wait to take off his hot leather suit. Yikes!
- Len & Tyra’s Awkward Interaction
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Staying on brand with Banksâ awkward comments, during Halloween Night of the competition, Banks and Goodman had a very awkward encounter after TikToker Charli DâAmelio and Mark Ballasâ Argentine Tango. Banks said, âI heard the audience kind of make a sound when Len said that he was transported to a club in Argentina.â She then went on to mimic dance music playing. Goodman humbled Banks by saying, âI donât know what youâre talking about.â As the couple went up to the skybox, Banks ran over to the head judge and tried to explain the joke, which he amusingly dismissed, and she finally stopped!Â
- Tyra gets ‘Scared’
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Banks also loves an opportunity to be extra dramatic. On Halloween Night, DWTS pro Sasha Farber did his annual Halloween âscaringâ and pranks on the contestants and other DWTS pros. During one of Banksâ monologues, he came up in front of her and Banks then proceeded to start screaming and dramatically pretended to be scared.Â
- Charli’s neck
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In another âweird and uncomfortable commentâ moment, as Charli and Mark got their critiques from the judges on Elvis Night, Banks told Charli âI love your neck. You have the most beautiful neck in the world. I love it.â What does that even mean?
As we wait for the next season of DWTS to stream next fall, hopefully between now and then DWTS producers will finally listen to fansâ requests to replace Banks as host!