“DWTS” guest judge Billy Porter booed for telling Jason Mraz to stop mouthing the song words
"Save that for when you're on Broadway," Porter told Mraz.
Keep the singing out of the ballroom.
That's what guest judge Billy Porter, who ironically enough kicked off Tuesday night's Whitney Houston episode of Dancing With the Stars singing "How Will I Know?", advised season 32 contestant Jason Mraz.
Mraz and partner Daniella Karagach delivered a samba to "Higher Love" by Kygo and Houston. But Porter found the "I'm Yours" musician's tendency to sing along (or at least mouth the words) during his performances distracting. "Save that for when you're on Broadway," Porter said.
The Kinky Boots star noted that he wants Mraz to perform and tell a story solely through dance, as that's what the competition show calls for — and mouthing the words only detracts from the choreography. Porter was met with boos from the live studio audience for his critique. (Judge Carrie Ann Inaba recently explained to EW why the audience is so apt to jeer at any negative feedback, admitting she actually encourages them to do so.)
Mraz has been on Broadway, in fact. In 2017, he stepped into the role of Dr. Pomatter in Waitress for a limited 10-week run. He previously appeared on composer Sara Bareilles' concept album, What's Inside: Songs from Waitress, where he sang Dr. Pomatter's songs, "Bad Idea" and "You Matter to Me."
Porter is also a Broadway star, having won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2013 for his portrayal of Lola in Kinky Boots.
Still, despite his criticism, Porter awarded Mraz a score of 8 for the performance, leading to a total score of 33 out of 40 for the duo.
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+ and streams the following day on Hulu.
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