Dancing With the Stars‘ “Halloween Nightmares” week has turned into a nightmare for judge Carrie Ann Inaba, who has been slammed by viewers for her “unfair” and “biased” scoring.
Tuesday’s (October 29) episode saw the seven remaining couples performing routines revolving around their biggest fears. It was a night of high scoring, as Inaba handed out 10s to Dwight Howard, Danny Amendola, Joey Graziadei, Stephen Nedoroscik, and Jenn Tran (who was eliminated at the end of the episode).
However, some fans were upset when Inaba only gave Pretty Little Liars star Chandler Kinney and her pro partner Brandon Armstrong a 9. At the same time, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli gave the performance their first 10s of the season.
Kinney and Armstrong had performed a Viennese Waltz to the theme song from Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin. Tonioli praised the performance, saying he was “spellbound” and noting how it “had the beauty and the sense of haunting that a classic gothic novel has.”
Inaba was harsher, noting how because Kinney had one of the hardest dances of the night, it made it “more critical to judge.” Even though she called the performance “really strong,” Inaba added, “I wouldn’t call it perfection just because it’s such a higher criteria.”
She shared similar criticism of rugby player Ilona Maher and her pro partner Alan Bersten for their “Psycho Killer” tango, which she awarded an 8.
Hough, however, disagreed with Inaba, telling Kinney, “The texture, the arm movement, the thing is trying to capture the quality that you did in that dance… it really truly was in my opinion absolute perfection.”
Fans jumped onto social media to blast Inaba’s scoring, including Armstrong’s wife, Brylee, who commented on Instagram, “No 10 from Carrie Ann? That’s kinda crazy not gonna lie.”
“There’s a reason why Derek, the only judge with formal ballroom training, only gave out one 10 tonight and it was for Chandler and Brandon. that’s all i’ll say,” added another commenter.
“Hands up if you think Carrie Ann needs to get a grip on her scoring,” said another.
Another added, “Carrie Ann giving these men who just did lifts and barely any dancing 10s but robs chandler of her perfect score … she will always be a woman hater.”
“Now watch carrie ann give these men a 10 but suddenly the paddle is missing when it comes to chandler,” one fan wrote.
Chandler Kinney; Disney/Andrew Eccles
“Carrie Anne hates women idc ilona and chandler deserve better,” added another.
Another wrote, “Giving dwight a 10, when all he did was walk and run around, and joey a ten with his wobbly lifts, and danny a 10 with his missed steps… and chandler gets a 9???? carrie anne babe make it make sense please.”
“No, because she’s been giving tens out tonight like they’re fucking candy and Chandler gives one of the best dances of night and gives her a nine…and everyone else gave her a 10. carrie ann you will begin to cough in 9 days,” said another.
“CARRIE ANN RUINING THE FIRST PERFECT SCORE OF THE SEASON FOR WHAT,” another added.
Inaba has previously opened up about receiving backlash and boos for her scoring, telling Parade, “We are one of the few [shows where] judges actually hold up scores. So, what we do matters, but also what everybody does at home matters. So, it’s good that they boo. I think it shows that they’re really supporting somebody.”
The viewers made their voices heard at the end of the night when Bachelor Nation star Jenn Tran and her pro partner Sasha Farber were eliminated after not receiving enough fan votes.
What do you think of Inaba’s scoring? Is she too harsh on the female contestants? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Dancing with the Stars, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC