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Charo Is Already Starting a Dancing With the Stars "Controversy" With Judge Bruno Tonioli

Never forget: She is the "queen of the cuchi-cuchi"

By Chris Harnick Mar 21, 2017 1:00 PMTags
Watch: Charo Goes All Out for "DWTS" Debut

The queen is in the ballroom. The queen of the cuchi-cuchi that is. Charo and professional dance partner Keo Motsepe made their Dancing With the Stars debut on the season 24 premiere and netted a 21 out of a possible 40 for their salsa to "Cuban Pete" by Mambo Companeros.

"I was so proud," Keo told E! News' Sibley Scoles after the premiere. "I had never seen her dance like that."

During rehearsal, Keo said Charo told him, "Keo, I need the audience. I'm a performer, I have audience all the time."

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Dancing With the Stars: Meet the Season 24 Cast!

"I love audiences," Charo said. "They are my oxygen. I only breathe with audience. When I'm alone, I am normally a miserable you know what."

After the critiques, Charo told longtime judge Bruno Tonioli that she was watching him. She took that one step further with us. "I've got a message for Bruno: If he wants to be alive for his next birthday, you better give me bigger numbers. Bigger! I'm watching you," she said. "We already have a controversy. Because I am the queen of the cuchi-cuchi, OK? Don't mess with me because, Bruno, I look at you."

Charo wasn't the lowest- scored dancer. That distinction went to Saturday Night Live veteran Chris Kattan and his partner Witney Carson, they scored a 17 out of 40. The highest shouldn't be a surprise: Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and partner Sasha Farber took home a 32 out of 40.

Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays, 8 p.m. on ABC.