As the competition on Dancing With the Stars heats up, Charity Lawson and her partner Artem Chigvintsev are facing tougher criticism from the judges.
“I was grateful for the feedback,” the Bachelorette star, 27, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, October 31, after the pair’s Monster Night performance. “I’ve been asking for that for a few weeks, so I finally have something to move forward with.”
However, Lawson noted that she was “a little confused” by some of the judges’ comments following her and Chigvintsev’s jive to “Skeleton Sam” by LVCRFT. Derek Hough noted that Lawson could borrow some of fellow contestant Lele Pons’ “power and attack” on the dance floor, while Carrie Ann Inaba said her legs could be sharper. Guest judge and former DWTS competitor Niecy Nash also pointed out that the duo’s under-the-leg slide was a bit “clunky.”
At the end of the day, Lawson said, “Any feedback is good feedback for me as a dancer who’s trying to grow.” Despite the harsh feedback, she and Chigvintsev, 41, ended the night with the fourth-highest score of 38 points.
Lawson and Chigvintsev went into Tuesday’s Monster Night competition on a high after getting the first 10 of the season from Inaba, 55, for their emotional Most Memorable Year Night contemporary routine on October 24. “It was the best feeling ever because I think when you don’t expect something, you can’t be let down,” Lawson told Us. “So, to go in with an expectation of just hopefully getting a nine and then to get a 10, it was a phenomenal feeling.”
Throughout her DWTS journey, Lawson has leaned on her fiancé, Dotun Olubeko, whom she got engaged to on the season 20 finale of The Bachelorette in August, for support.
“This is very hard and I feel like if he wasn’t here, I mean, I still would be doing great, but it just would’ve been a lot more stressful for us and me and mentally,” she gushed. “He is like an extra added support for me, just helping me with little things of, you know, ‘How can I assist you tonight?’ or, ‘Can I run an errand for you?’ Time is precious and I’m in rehearsals and trying to dedicate my life to this. So yeah, he’s an angel.”
While she and Chigvintsev are busy with DWTS rehearsals for the time being, Lawson told us she hopes to eventually go on a double date with the ballroom pro and his wife, Nikki Garcia. “I’m waiting to finally meet Nikki in person,” the Bachelor Nation star gushed. “Well, I did meet her on a podcast, but [not] in person.” Garcia, 39, previously competed with Chigvintsev on season 25 of DWTS before tying the knot in 2022.
Chigvintsev, for his part, told Us that his family has also been “a great support” for him this season and that he had to miss trick-or-treating with his and Garcia’s son Matteo, 3, on Tuesday. “I told him, ‘Matteo, you have to spread that [candy] through the week, buddy. You cannot actually have it all at once,’” he joked.
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Hannah Kahn
