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Lisa Vanderpump judges the 'Dancing' judges: They were 'confidence destroying'

Funnymen D.L. Hughley and Andy Dick may not be chuckling right now. On Monday night, they received low scores (12 and 17 points, respectively) and harsh criticism from the judges after performing their first dances on the season opener of ‘Dancing With the Stars.’The pair can celebrate, however, the fact that they have a strong ally in fellow "Dancing" competitor, Lisa Vanderpump.“We saw som
Lisa Vanderpump and pro partner Gleb Savchenko.
Lisa Vanderpump and pro partner Gleb Savchenko.Craig Sjodin / ABC / Today

Funnymen D.L. Hughley and Andy Dick may not be chuckling right now. On Monday night, they received low scores (12 and 17 points, respectively) and harsh criticism from the judges after performing their first dances on the season opener of ‘Dancing With the Stars.’

The pair can celebrate, however, the fact that they have a strong ally in fellow "Dancing" competitor, Lisa Vanderpump.

“We saw some real emotions from Andy tonight,” the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star mused in the post-show press line, referring to how Andy cut open an emotional vein in the pre-dance video segment. “People don’t realize how physically challenging (this show) is. It looks like fun, but then you go from zero to (premiere night) in ten days. That’s hard! Out of all of us, I feel very connected to Andy. He talked about himself honestly and I support him.”

As for the low-scoring Hughley (really low-scoring -- his partner, Cheryl Burke, hadn’t seen a "4" paddle since she danced with Tom Delay in season nine), Vanderpump supports him just as much -- if not more.

“D.L.’s a normal guy who decided to take this on,” she said. “I stand in defense of everyone who’s bloody brave enough to get up here and do it!”

Vanderpump, who scored 18 points for her foxtrot with her partner, newcomer Gleb Savchenko, is clearly a woman you want on your side.

“The judges gave (D.L.) a lower score for the first night, right out of the gate,” Vanderpump sighed. “That’s confidence destroying. I love and support all the cast. There’s so much camaraderie here.”

So what happened to Hughley? After the show, the comic told The Clicker that his busy schedule kept him from rehearsing his first dance as much as he probably should have.

“It wasn’t nerves,” he said. “I’m not a good dancer, but I’m also not a coward!”

He doesn’t plan on going home on next Tuesday’s results show either. “It will never happen like this again,” he stated.

Burke feels Hughley has true potential. “He did way better in dress rehearsal,” Burke shared. “I told him he may not be the best dancer, but he can sell it with his personality. We’re going to work hard on our quickstep for next week. It’s going to be difficult, but we’re going to put in the time.”

There’s a plus side to being on the bottom of the scoreboard too.

“There’s only one way to go -- up,” Burke enthused.

As for Dick, his partner believes he should have seen higher scores to start with.

 “I would have given Andy 7s,” Sharna Burgess, said. “That would have been a great score. He has improved beyond belief!”

“They didn’t see me doing my dance the whole first week,” Dick pointed out. “It was horrible.”

Time will tell if Dick gets a chance to incorporate humor into his routines, but he plans on going for the laughs as he learns how to hoof.

“When I’m not getting something, I go to humor,” Dick said. “And I’ll get Sharna on a laughing jag. I love that.”

The former "NewsRadio" star says he’s happy to have "Dancing" as a platform to show people that he’s doing much better.

“Yes, because it’s been years of the other stuff,” Dick said. “I love that there are people out there who are struggling (with addiction). If I can turn it around, then trust me -- anyone can. This show is better than rehab!”

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