Tyler Cameron survived his first Dancing With the Stars tango. Getting Derek Hough to remember his name turned out to be a separate challenge.
The former Bachelorette runner-up made his Season 35 ballroom debut with Sharna Burgess on September 15, performing a tango to Lenny Kravitz’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way.” When the judges began their critiques, Hough opened his comments with a name Cameron was not expecting: “Dylan.” Entertainment Weekly reported that Hough appeared not to notice the slip.
Cameron did not stop him. Hough continued by comparing him to Patrick Swayze, praising the cool, masculine quality of the performance and then moving into technical notes about his frame and posture.
The accidental name change quickly became one of the night’s smaller live-TV talking points. It also created an obvious question for viewers, if Hough was thinking of another contestant, who exactly was “Dylan”?
Hough Started a Compliment With the Wrong Name
Derek Hough called ‘Bachelorette’ alum Tyler Cameron the wrong name while judging his routine on the ‘DWTS’ season 35 premiere. https://t.co/zZCYAdEFGd
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 16, 2026
The mistake came immediately as Hough began evaluating Cameron’s first competitive dance. “Dylan, you have this, like, Patrick Swayze aura about you,” he told him. “You’re cool, masculine, just effortless,” Hough continued, apparently unaware that he had used the wrong name.
Cameron let the critique continue as Hough moved into what he wanted improved. He told Cameron to expand his frame and strengthen his posture so the technique could catch up with the presence he already brought onto the floor.
There was no correction from the judging table. Us Weekly reported that Cameron also did not publicly address the flub afterward. His fiancée, Tate Madden, was in the ballroom supporting him for the premiere.
Dylan Efron Is the Obvious Guess, but Hough Hasn’t Said So
The most obvious theory points one season backward. Dylan Efron, Zac Efron’s younger brother, competed on Season 34 of Dancing With the Stars with Daniella Karagach and ultimately finished fourth.
Entertainment Weekly suggested Hough was likely thinking of Efron, while Us Weekly similarly raised him as a possible explanation for why “Dylan” came out instead of “Tyler.”
There are superficial reasons the mix-up feels plausible. Efron and Cameron both arrived in the ballroom with athletic backgrounds and reality-TV recognition, and Efron had been standing in front of the same judging panel less than a year earlier. Hough has not confirmed that explanation.
Cameron Had Already Called Burgess His ‘Dream’ Partner
Before the premiere, Cameron told Entertainment Weekly that Burgess was “a dream of a partner” because she was willing to push him hard in rehearsals. “I want someone who’s hard, who’s going to whip me into shape, and she is doing all that and more,” Cameron said. “She’s crushing it.”
He was particularly nervous about impressing Tonioli. Burgess joked that Cameron could probably solve that problem by taking off his shirt, while explaining that Hough’s technical eye would be one of the tougher standards they would have to satisfy.
Cameron also has a longstanding personal connection between dancing and his late mother, Andrea. He and his brothers established the Andrea C. Cameron Foundation in her honor, and Cameron previously said while competing on The Real Dirty Dancing that his mother loved seeing him dance and had always encouraged him to take chances.