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Todd McKenney: “Move your a*se”

Dancing with the Stars' Todd McKenney turns up the heat on Samantha Armytage and Lara Bingle, questioning their commitment to rehearsals.

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Todd McKenney reclaimed his title as Dancing with the Stars‘ outspoken judge last night when he criticised Weekend Sunrise’s Samantha Armytage after a disappointing Rumba.

“It was dull. If that’s the best of your ability you’ve got to find more hours to put in. You’ve got to move your a*se. Move it,” he said.

“It was dull and boring.”

She scored a flatlining 11 points.

He also criticised Lara Bingle over her commitment to the show.

“I know we’re all busy, but everyone’s busy,” he said.

“If you haven’t got the time, get out.”

Meanwhile the eliminated contestant was surfer Mark “Occy” Occhilupo who fell into the bottom two with Home and Away‘s Dan Ewing.

“I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had such a great time. I met a lot of good friends and my dance partner Jade Brand is such a sweet girl,” said Occhilupo.

26 Responses

  1. I thought the judges were supposed to encourage , not belittle , these people are not professional dancers , they try their best , they have more guts than any of us ! Who are these judges anyway , apart from the show ive never heard of them . Good luck to all the people on it I say .

  2. Armytage isn’t married. She probably should’ve got a bit fitter if she knew about the gig 3-4 months before, plus she also doesn’t have any chemistry with her dancer, from seeing YouTube clips, as I don’t watch the show.

  3. I love Sam – she is the main reason I watch Weekend Sunrise. But she is obviously really, really uncomfortable doing these dances and probably didn’t realise until after she signed on for the show.

    She would know if the dance was good or bad and probably doesn’t need such harsh words afterwards either – it certainly won’t help her feel more comfortable!

    Good on you Sam for trying – that’s all anyone can ask! 🙂

  4. @Moanique in Brisbane
    It’s possible to check a show out from time to time without becoming a rusted-on fan. Over the years I’ve tuned in to see if Todd McKenney has kept his pants on, or has has avoided anyone else ‘planting’ GHB in his pockets 😉
    But thanks for your interest Moanique, I’m a huge fan of your work.

  5. @steveany, right back atcher … but I think you’re being a bit kind … I obviously don’t mind a bit of TV rough trade or I wouldn’t have been watching DWTS in the first place!

  8. Samantha Armytage is busy being a newsreader and well being a journalist that is her first commitment. Hopefully she will survive god i want her to survive. As for Lara how is she busy? she like Brynne does nothing at all. So if Lara is performing badly then its her own fault. Yes i am biased towards journalists or news presenters such as Samantha but that is because their jobs are more important then Brynne’s and Lara’s whatever that is. I do concede that Sam should not have gone on the show but since she is on it i want her to win realistically i dont know how realistic that is. Oh Samantha is still realy realy hot and sexy if she is married then her husband is realy lucky. I know if i was him i would go there to support my wife every sunday night.

  9. @David Knox
    Don’t worry about it – it’s not a drama – just interesting.
    Allowing “shit” may just prove to be the thin end of the wedge, that’s all.
    I remember when Steve McQueen said “shit” for the first time in ‘The Towering Inferno”, what a sensation! Now every second word in movie scripts is “f*#k”.
    I predict the day when this site is called “TV F#*king Tonight” and no one will bat an eyelid! 🙂

  10. It was more towards Lara he told to get out because they learnt there routine in 24 hours and stuffed things up last night. I know these people are busy but people are putting in big bucks in this show and its meant to be entertainment and its a waste of the judges time if the celebrities dont put in the time and effort.

    Sam reminds me of a bit of Alex Fevolva last year in that she has to believe in herself more. As she says she is a curvy woman who is not fat but I can see how she would feel around Haly, Brynne and Lara. If she bought out her personality like she does on weekend sunrise then she will do well.

  12. @NJK & Andrew – You’re both right. But isn’t it interesting that “shit” is permissable on this site but not “ar*e”. Mystifying!
    @Trix,
    I so often have no need to comment on stories because you’ve already said what I wanted to write. I also enjoy legitimate dance and agree with your insightful comment about dancers.
    So this show must be like fingernails down a blackboard to someone with your sensibilities! I haven’t watched since Chris Bath was on – her splendid performances exactly embody what you wrote – but since then there has been no one of similar calibre. It has become a C-list ‘star fest’ with dance firmly relegated to the back seat.

    1. Stevany / NJK: Have no problem with the word, and suspect most people don’t. Happy to take my lead from the general consensus of the audience. Until now it’s been about maintaining some consistency across the site where the word was used, that’s all. If it’s used at 6:30 at night on TV without incident then who am I to argue?

  13. I really think the judges need to say how they can improve. I think putting someone down (especially in this case when Sam was sick) is plain mean. Yes it wasn’t very good. But to criticise someone for not putting in as much time etc. I don’t think that they find whatever time they have to try and learn the steps. .

  14. I watched her dance and it was no good. I totally agree with McKenney.
    It just seems that she does not want to be there at all. She is probably hoping she gets voted off.

  15. I think some of these contestants are discovering that dance is a very exposing art form – if you aren’t an insightful, self-aware person who can translate their inner life to an external physicality, you have what was shown last night – stiff, robotic movement. That’s why powerful, graceful dance is a transcendent experience – having just booked tickets for the Sydney Dance Company’s Perth show in July – can’t wait! Now there’s dancing for yer …

  16. @NJK: Not wanting to get into the whole issue of people accessing the internet for their own purposes from work, but some people may be reading this from within a workplace with filters in place.

  17. Sam does her best and has improved.
    Really dislike how smug Sonia has become, I flick over when she comes on. Sonia is as false as her smile and Daniel almost is as bad.
    Go Manu!!!!!!!!

  19. Do you really need to put an asterisk in the word “a*se”?! Seriously – how many people who read this blog (or, more widely, who have a pulse) would be offended by the word a*se nowadays? If they honestly are they need to get a life!

  20. I thought he was a bit tough on Lara. But was fair enough on Sam. She doesnt look committed at all which is a shame because she could have been the star of the series. Chris Bath and Kylie Gilles have been some of the most memorable contestants so far, I thought Sam would be the same.

  21. I agree with Todd.
    Samantha Armytage can’t dance even though she’s trying, she lacks co-ordination & flexibility as this is the second week her performance has been a joke.
    Samantha is only surviving on popularity, where is our sense of fair play as there are better performers being voted off each week.

  23. I kind of agree with Todd’s comments from last night. I was so keen to see how Samantha would fare when she was announced in this season’s lineup. But she is very stitched up, finding it hard to break out. She is gorgeous and likeable but a bit of a stodgy dancer – she does need to find the energy and spirit of movement. Lara is a bit of a princess – she has little chemistry with Carmelo – the judges have alluded to it. I still find a lack of chemistry with the new judge and the other 2 – very strange. Josh doesn’t seem to fit.

  24. Well done to Occy for getting out there! Well done to his community both surfing and nonsurfing for getting behind him and helping raise money for surfaid internationa.. Thank you Jade for all your efforts too!!

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