Dedication Night came and went on Dancing With The Stars, and despite there being no elimination this week, many fans still have a sour taste in their mouths about how the evening went in terms of scoring. Carrie Ann Inaba is once again in the hot seat with fans, with accusations that she’s giving unfair scores to certain teams and playing favorites as the show continues its run as part of the 2025 TV schedule. Now, she’s replied.
This isn’t the first time Inaba has faced this criticism, as fans went after the judge when they felt she was giving Kaitlyn Bristowe low scores without suitable reasoning back in Season 29. This time, the judge is speaking out about the comments and took to social media to respond to the comments on her posts.
Carrie Ann Inaba took a photo with Kym Johnson-Herjavec following Dedication Night and posted it to Instagram. The comments on the post were flooded with criticisms of her scores on the night, with one person specifically calling her out for giving Robert Irwin an eight when all the other judges in attendance gave him a nine. Inaba responded to the comment with the following:
It’s okay to disagree about what we see. That’s what makes our show great. You have a say in the matter. We want you to vote for what you love and believe in. I appreciate your comment and the way you expressed your feelings. Thank you for your passion and your opinion.
Carrie Ann Inaba’s response is more of a measured and diplomatic reply, and most importantly, hard to argue against. While people love Robert Irwin and want him to continue his dancing talents elsewhere, she’s entitled to her opinion, and as someone with decades of experience as a professional dancer, it’s not like she is uninformed.
While I think it’s fair to say Inaba can give harsher critiques than Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough, her scores this season haven’t reflected anything out of the ordinary. There were only four instances in Season 34 of Dancing With The Stars where she gave a lower score than the rest of the judges, one of which was Robert Irwin’s “Dedication Night” performance with his mother. However, it was a popular performance, so I get why that would stand out.
Pro Pasha Pashkov Spoke Out About Carrie Ann Inaba’s Scores After Latest Episode
Pasha Pashkov might have a role to play in why Dancing With The Stars fans are keeping an extra eye on Carrie Ann Inaba. The pro called out the judge for her critique of his Boy Meets World performance with Danielle Fishel, which included Mr. Feeney actor William Daniels. In an interview with Variety, the pro sounded off on Inaba’s comments about their dance feeling the same as the week prior, and how it felt like an unfair comment to make:
I was not happy. I always get protective. For me, that comment felt unfair, especially being that she said that the dances looked similar. But the thing is, we did have a quickstep and we had a jive this week. These are two dances that very, very similar. If we had dances that were drastically different and they felt the same, I’d understand. But, based on the dances that we had, that did not feel like it made sense to me. In my heart, I’m overprotective because I know how hard Danielle is working. I don’t think she deserved that comment.
Danielle Fishel is, I would wager, one of the most beloved members of this Dancing With The Stars cast. It’s clear from her viral moment with Whitney Leavitt that there’s a big spotlight on her, so when Pasha Pashkov calls out Carrie Ann Inaba, it makes sense that other fans will jump on it as well.
As someone who has watched Dancing With The Stars for a long time, I can say the criticisms about Carrie Ann Inaba’s judging style are not new. Between Bruno’s eccentric gesturing and Derek’s glowing positivity, I think she definitely delivers the harsher criticisms of the three. Back when the late Len Goodman was judging, that role fell to him, but it’s shifted more in her direction since then.
This is to say, I don’t imagine the comments from fans will make Inaba alter her judging style. She’s going to continue judging the way she sees fit, and ultimately, most of the power is in the hands of the voters at home.
We’ll see if fans go after Carrie Ann Inaba more as Dancing With The Stars continues on ABC and Disney+ on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. I’m sure, as is the case in previous seasons, we’re only going to see more controversy as fan favorites start to leave.