While Bristol Palin’s inaugural appearance on “Dancing With The Stars” last week featured a tear-away business suit, a red fringed dress, the song “Mama Told Me Not To Come” and a hip-shaking, shoulder-shimmying cha-cha, one thing it did not feature was any reaction from Bristol’s mother, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.
That was rectified this week.
After a tour de force routine by actress Jennifer Grey was given high — but not exceptional scores — Grey and partner Derek Hough were surprised to hear the crowd booing. Grey asked co-host Brooke Burke, “Why are they booing? What’s the booing?”
They didn’t wait long to find out: the producers then cut to co-host Tom Bergeron sitting in the audience with Sarah Palin and daughter Piper. Palin, shaking her head in a bit of shock, was introduced as “guest ballroom commenter Sarah Palin,” after which the audience applauded.
Bergeron then asked Palin for her opinion on first the competition (“amazing”) and then on the judges. Palin responded:
It’s like before a hockey game, you’re not going to chew out the refs before your team is up. So you’re great! You guys are doing great!
She refused to pick favorites between the dancers competing with her daughter — like any good politician — and added, “Bristol the Pistol, that’s who we’re rooting for.”
And if it wasn’t embarrassing enough for 19-year-old Bristol to hear her nickname outed by her mom on national television, producers sent Bristol and partner Mark Ballas up to Wasilla last week to film some “Meet The Parents” scenes with Sarah, too.
Sarah pronounced herself “starstruck” by Ballas and “extremely” proud of Bristol. In the best part, though, she expressed astonishment at Bristol’s dancing skills. She said, “I thought, ‘How does she do that? How does she do that, that…'” And then Sarah Palin demonstrated her own version of Bristol’s shoulder-shimmy, complete with sound effects.
Watch the video of both parts of Sarah Palin’s appearance below:
To see Bristol Palin’s full “Dancing With The Stars” appearance this week, including her quickstep to “You Can’t Hurry Love,” go to ABC’s website and watch the final segment of the show.
