Despite being a big reality TV fan, I've never watched Dancing with the Stars until this season. I've been having a blast, even if I've got pet peeves about the hosts on occasion. I finally got to stream the most recent episode with my Disney+ subscription, and Derek Hough made a mistake that I truly can't stop thinking about. Let's break it all down.During Disney night, Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson performed a Mary Poppins number, getting some backlash for the way the dance ended. In the midst of his critiques, judge Derek Hough said the following to the Grey's Anatomy star: I had the pleasure of working with Dick Van Dyke a couple times, and he would've loved absolutely loved this performance.This was a very sweet reaction to Shum's electric number on Disney night, there's just one problem. His comments kind of made it seem like the Mary Poppins icon was no longer with us. In fact, Dick Van Dyke is alive and well at age 100. Fans of Dancing with the Stars quickly started sounding off online about this flub, regardless of whether or not Derek Hough meant the way he phrased his compliment to Shum. Responses started rolling on on various social media outlets, some of which read:"not Derek saying that Dick Van Dyke would've loved this... girl he's still alive.""dick van dyke still out here doing more at 98 than most men do in their prime and derek really tried to put him in the past tense""'Dick Van Dyke would have loved this' Derek let’s think please because I had to look up if that man was still alive and he is. Would have loved this? Send it to him?""Am I insane or is Derek talking about Dick Van Dyke like he’s passed away??😭 "For those who might no remember, Dick Van Dyke actually had an A+ cameo on The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60 special, where Derek Hough himself led a performance of "Step in Time". The dance also performed in Van Dyke's Kennedy Center Honors tribute, meeting him afterward. Additionally, last season Robert Irwin performed a quickstep to that same song. The 100 year-old icon of the stage and screen has connections to the reality competition series, even if Hough made it sound like he had passed away.(Image credit: ABC)2026 has been rough year for celebrity deaths, with fans still mourning the death of Patrick Stewart just last week. Luckily we did not lose Dick Van Dyke during this crazy year. Derek Hough is usually very aware of the online discourse surrounding DWTS, so we'll have to see if he takes to social media to address this snafu. For now I'll just be replaying that moment as it lives rent-free in my mind.Dancing with the Stars airs new episodes Tuesdays on ABC as part of the 2026 TV schedule. The competition is really heating up, so we'll have to see what happens in these final weeks. For now, fans can stream the show (plus the Mary Poppins movies) over on Disney+.