JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson may have made history on the Season 30 premiere of Dancing With the Stars, but the night was memorable for a different — and much more painful — reason for dance veteran Johnson. While the duo's number marked the show’s first dance featuring same-sex partners, Johnson has revealed that she injured her knee during the performance.
The couple performed the Quickstep to Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl,” garnering the top score of the night, despite Jenna Johnson’s noticeable fall. Johnson described the injury to Page Six, saying her knee briefly slipped out of socket.
I should have known that there was going to be a flaw in the system, but no one had ever done this before. I slipped on JoJo’s dress, and both my feet actually came out from under me. While I was in that process of trying to squeeze and not fall … my knee kind of tweaked, kind of slipped out of place, came back in.
Yikes, that sounds painful! While the slip-up was actually visible, Jenna Johnson’s recovery was remarkable. JoJo Siwa helped to quickly lift Johnson back to her feet, never losing stride, and Johnson’s smile didn’t falter for even a second. While Johnson said she was upset to distract from Siwa’s historic moment, she felt the Nickelodeon star's response to the fall made her performance even more impressive.
Obviously, I’m so disappointed because I feel like I took away from JoJo’s moments, because this was such an epic night for us, for Dancing With the Stars, for her. But I think that even with this stupid little slip-up, [JoJo] did incredible. Even with that fall, I think it highlighted her, because it showed what a great partner she is.
It’s no doubt in that moment Jenna Johnson benefited from having the former Dance Moms star on stage with her. You can check out the performance for yourself below:
Look at all the leg work Jenna Johnson had to do in the seconds following her injury! She is a true professional, and to that end, Johnson isn’t going to let JoJo Siwa down for their next performance. After a little rest and therapy, Johnson said she plans to be on stage again next week.
Very unfortunate, but there’s no way that I would miss out on Week 2! They made me take a day off to just rest. So, icing the knee, but I feel fine. I did some therapy last night.
I just hope Jenna Johnson doesn’t push herself too far and risk further injury. Dancing With the Stars is known for being physically demanding, and even though that’s nothing new for Johnson, the publicity surrounding JoJo Siwa’s stint in the competition might add pressure on Johnson to push her physical limits. Here’s hoping the rest of Season 30 will be injury-free for all contestants and pros -- though given past history, that's probably unlikely. Dancing With the Stars returns at 8 p.m. ET Monday on ABC. And check out our 2021 fall TV schedule to stay up to date on all of the upcoming premieres.
