© 2026 ABC News

\"We wanted to add little sentimental moments,\" Johnson explained. \"So I think having Derek [Hough] step into the spotlight where [Goodman's] hat would have been ... and then ending with the spotlight on his empty chair and hearing his voiceover, I think those were all moments that we really wanted to capture some emotion, but also to have him with us in the ballroom one last time,\" Johnson said.

\"The dancing just was spoke for itself,\" she continued. \"I think you had incredible dancers dancing so beautifully with one purpose, and it turned out really magical. I just got chills again thinking about it.\"

Johnson noted how the \"raw emotion\" the routine evoked was partly due to it being filmed in one take, something unlike normal pre-taped numbers which she said had \"the luxury\" of two and sometimes three takes.

\"You could just feel this, like, balloon of emotion,\" she said. \"It was powerful.\"

Having dancers from throughout \"DWTS\" history is something Johnson said added \"a treat\" for longtime fans and gave those dancers a chance to honor someone who had been a part of all their journeys.

\"We all come from different walks of life and also different eras of the show, so I think to have all of those eras together as a united front was really, really epic.\"

\"PHOTO:
Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Images
PHOTO: ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" - Season 30 - Week Nine
>

In the end, it was a moment for each of those dancers to remember Goodman, who had been a judge on the series since it began in 2005, save for a couple seasons.

Johnson said she was \"always a little bit terrified\" of Goodman, who died in April 2023 at age 78, because on \"DWTS,\" he represented of all her toughest coaches in her life and dance career.

\"I always wanted to do my best for him,\" she gushed. \"I always wanted to show up for him, because he wouldn't mess around and he would be direct and very honest and blunt with his critiques. And if I got a smile out of him, or if I got a congrats or a round of applause, I knew I did a good job.\"

No matter what happens at the Emmys, Johnson is set to hit the ballroom again this fall on \"DWTS\" season 33 alongside her celebrity partner, \"Bachelor\" alum Joey Graziadei, in the hopes of winning her second Mirrorball Trophy.

\"Dancing with the Stars\" season 33 premieres Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with episodes streaming on Hulu the next day.

Disney is the parent company of Hulu, ABC News, and \"Good Morning America.\"

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/jenna-johnson-talks-1st-emmy-nomination-len-goodman-tribute/story?id=113425813","legacySlug":"/culture/story/jenna-johnson-talks-1st-emmy-nomination-len-goodman-tribute-113425813","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"08:09","publishDate":"09-06-2024","updatedTime":"08:09","updatedDate":"09-06-2024","socialImage":{"alt":"ABC's \"Dancing with the Stars\" stars Jenna Johnson. ","credit":"Andrew Eccles/Disney","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/jenna-johnson-abc-gmh-240905_1725566499333_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"9/6/2024 08:09:19 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":113425813,"headline":"Jenna Johnson talks 1st Emmy nomination","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA JENNA JOHNSON EMMYS + LEN TRIBUTE","description":"\"It turned out really magical. I just got chills again thinking about it.\"","duration":"2:06","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2024/09/240905_gma_digital_2_JennaJohnson_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["80018559","113392125","113355662"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"November 26, 2025","headline":"Who won 'Dancing with the Stars'? Full list of all 'DWTS' winners","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/who-won-dancing-with-the-stars-full-list-dwts-winners-80018559","id":80018559,"image":{"alt":"Who won 'Dancing with the Stars'? Full list of all 'DWTS' winners","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/dwts-2-abc-gmh-251126_1764160248211_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"September 4, 2024","headline":"'Dancing with the Stars' season 33: See the celebrities with their pro partners","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/dancing-stars-season-33-celebrities-pro-partners-113392125","id":113392125,"image":{"alt":"'Dancing with the Stars' season 33: See the celebrities with their pro partners","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/phaedra-park-val-chmerkovskiy-2-abc-gmh-240904_1725480417540_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Heidi Gutman/ABC","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"September 4, 2024","headline":"'Dancing with the Stars': Meet the celebrity cast of season 33","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/dancing-with-the-stars-season-33-cast-113355662","id":113355662,"image":{"alt":"'Dancing with the Stars': Meet the celebrity cast of season 33","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/dwts-combo-abc-gmh-240903_1725394396554_hpMain_2_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Andrew Eccles/Disney","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Jenna Johnson talks 1st Emmy nomination","description":"\"It turned out really magical. I just got chills again thinking about it.\"","duration":"2:06","uploadDate":"09-06-2024","publication":"09-06-2024","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2024/09/240905_gma_digital_2_JennaJohnson_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2024/09/240905_gma_digital_2_JennaJohnson_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/jenna-johnson-talks-1st-emmy-nomination-len-goodman-tribute-113425813"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131033212","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130999943","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130971027","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130962159","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130896721","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Jenna Johnson talks 1st Emmy nomination","pubTime":"04:09","pubDate":"09-06-2024","modTime":"04:09","modDate":"09-06-2024","taxonomyTags":"none","id":113425813,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Jenna Johnson talks 1st Emmy nomination","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA JENNA JOHNSON EMMYS + LEN TRIBUTE","videoId":113425813,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/jenna-johnson-talks-1st-emmy-nomination-len-goodman-tribute-113425813"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/113425813","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/113425813","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};