ABC/Craig SjodinDancing With the Stars' 17th season officially kicked off Monday night with 12 celebrity dancers, but one star who isn't even competing stole the spotlight in the ballroom!
Jennifer Lopez made a surprise appearance on the ABC reality hit's opening night along with beau Casper Smart to support her BFF Leah Remini, who scored a solid 21 points from the judges and even made Lopez shed a tear!
E! News chatted with Remini backstage after the show to find out what Lopez said to her, while Snooki, Elizabeth Berkley and more dish on dancing in front of the superstar. Plus, early frontrunner Amber Riley talks about receiving support from her Glee cast members and Jack Osbourne tells us what father Ozzy Osbourne thinks of his son competing on DWTS!
"She thought I did great!" Remini says of what Lopez told her after the show. "She gave it her all and I couldn't be more proud of her," Lopez tweeted post-performance.
But Remini wasn't the only celeb dancer excited to see Lopez in the audience. "I've known Casper for a while now and I didn't even know they were going to be here, so that was really cool," Riley says of the American Idol judge's appearance, while Corbin Bleu gushes, "That's so cool and she's gorgeous! She's fly!" Snooki was even more thrilled over Lopez's appearance, saying, "Who can say they danced in front of J.Lo?! I love her, she's amazing! She's supporting everybody, so it's cool!"
And while Lopez is a skilled dancer, her presence didn't make Berkley nervous. "I know her, so it didn't make me as nervous. I respect her as a dancer for sure and she's worked hard for a lot of years, so she's definitely someone I respect," the Saved By the Bell star tells us.
But Remini wasn't the only dancer to have some special guests in the audience as Riley's Glee co-stars Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz gave her a standing ovation after her performance, which garnered a record-tying 27 points. "Right after we performed, I ran over there and gave them all a hug," Riley says. "When I came out all of them were smiling and my mom and my dad and my aunt and my grandmother and everybody was here!"
Sharon Osbourne got emotional while watching Jack Osbourne perform his first dance of the season, crying after he finished. "I was like, sorry I made you cry! Clearly she liked it, I think," he tells us. "It was either that or, ‘Oh, I can't believe my kid is so screwed up!'"
But what does his dad Ozzy think of his decision to perform on DWTS? "It's good to have family support; it's also equally nerve-wrecking, especially for my dad," he explains. "My dad is, yeah he's Ozzy Osbourne, but he's also kind of stoic to a degree. It's kind of interesting. I have to wonder if he's sitting there like, 'I can't believe my son is dancing,' in a good way or a bad thing. I don't know! I think it is a good thing!"
For more DWTS scoop straight from the cast, tune into E! News at 7 and 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night.