What Went Wrong During Skai Jackson's Dancing With The Stars Routine

Skai Jackson and Alan Bersten killed their first routine on Dancing With the Stars on Sept. 14, 2020. Unfortunately for them, their second performance didn't go as smoothly. They danced the samba to "Miss Independent" by NeYo. They started out strong until Jackson slipped. Otherwise, the routine was flawless, but the judges just couldn't look past that moment. All three of them gave her a five out of ten, per Entertainment Tonight. To put things in perspective, Carole Baskin and Pasha Pashkov got two fives and a six. What is going on in the ballroom? 

Before sharing his score, Bruno Tonioli told Jackson, "Listen, things happen. You know, it's live. All performers have moments when things don't go their way, but I still believe in you because when you get it right, you're precise, neat, clean. You work very, very hard. You've [got] plenty of talent." He made it clear that he had faith in her, remarking, "It went wrong tonight, but I'm telling you, you'll be back next week, I'm sure."

Carrie Ann Inaba began, "Skai, the way you started out that routine, I thought you were going to be on the top of the leaderboard." At least, she wasn't too harsh, instead, saying, "We obviously saw. I don't need to comment on that. Bruno already did." She asked Jackson to "work on [her] arms a little bit" for her next dance.

"A setback sets you up for a comeback," Derek Hough shared. Thankfully, Jackson and Bersten made it to the next week of Dancing With the Stars. 

After Skai Jackson slipped mid-samba, Derek Hough said, "Just think about next week." He also wondered if Jackson and Alan Bersten's height difference contributed to her slip. She is 4'1" and he is 6' 0", per Hollywood Life . Derek advised her not to "dance up to him" and have Alan "come down" to her instead to balance things out. Before Jackson and Bersten got their scores, host Tyra Banks said, "Now, you're tied for first place. You had a little bit of a mishap. How are you feeling right now? You're the baby of the group."

The Disney Channel alum responded, "You know what, that did happen, but things happen. It was a little bit slippery, but it's totally fine and I still think we did a really good job." In an interview with Hollywood Life, Jackson said, "It was, honestly, the floor was just really slippery. There was confetti before, which made it even more slippery. Because when we did it in rehearsal, we never fell or anything." She admitted, "I mean, of course, it's a little bit upsetting but next week is going to be great."

Jackson recalled, "When we were doing the move, everything was totally fine before that" and it was totally fine after the fall, which is why fans were so annoyed. One tweeted, "I get Skai slipped up but all 5's just for that? They're mad tripping tonight." Someone else wrote, "Skai deserved more than that score. Come on!"

Skai Jackson may have lost her footing on the dance floor, but she did not lose her sense of humor. After the routine, she posted, "I didn't realize I pulled his hair! Sorry @alanbersten We'll make up for that slip next week!" In response, Alan Bersten commented, "Also technically you didn't fall!! You caught yourself on my extremely gelled hair." Good point. She also tweeted a GIF of the hair pull and wrote "Goodbye," which prompted Bersten to joke: "Goodbye what, my hair???"

Jackson (literally) didn't miss a beat after that slip/hair pull combo. "One of the most impressive things to me is that Skai didn't stop," Bersten told Hollywood Life. The Dancing With the Stars pro shared, "That's something that a lot of people would have stopped after, and the fact that she kept going, in my opinion, she even came back stronger." Jackson said it "never even came into [her] head" to stop dancing.

Bersten kept it positive, saying, "You're at the top of the leaderboard in week one, and in week two we weren't at the top of the leaderboard. But week three, we're coming back." Week three of the dance competition is slated to be Disney Week, which might bode well for Jackson, considering her Disney Channel roots. Of course, it's a total bummer that she slipped and it definitely affected her scores, but at least she didn't get booted from the show, and now she can use that hair-pulling slip GIF whenever she wants.