Was Sarah Palin booed on 'Dancing with the Stars'?

Sarah Palin and youngest daughter, Piper, weather a rowdy audience in support of Bristol&#039;s Dancing with the Stars quickstep.

(Image credit: YouTube)

last updated 8 January 2015

The video: Last night on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," boos were heard off-screen just before the camera cut to an interview between Sarah Palin and host Tom Bergeron. Was the audience, as some commentators concluded, expressing its disapproval of Palin—who was seated in the front row to watch daughter Bristol compete?

The reactions: The audience wasn't booing for Palin, an ABC spokesperson tells the Los Angeles Times, but rather registering their displeasure with the scores that had just been revealed for contestants Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough (perceived as too low). "They were just expressing their feelings about a really, really good dance." Well, possibly, but Grey got "the highest marks of the night," says Rachel Weiner in The Washington Post. Why would that elicit boos? In any case, says Megan Friedman in Time, "Bristol didn't let it get her down." Her quickstep was favorably reviewed and earned her 22 points (out of 30). Watch the clip: