‘DTWS’ Judge Carrie Ann Inaba Reacts to Claims She's More Critical of Women
- - ‘DTWS’ Judge Carrie Ann Inaba Reacts to Claims She's More Critical of Women
Katherine SchaffstallNovember 12, 2025 at 12:30 AM
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Disney/Andrew Eccles
Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba reacted to claims that she's more critical of female contestants than male contestants on the show.
“I think that it is partly true. I am the woman on the panel, and I understand what it is to be a woman, so I can get into more detail about what I’m seeing,” Inaba, 57, told Variety in an interview published on Tuesday, November 11. “Because I support women so much, I let them know what I see because they are working so hard. I always feel it’s my responsibility if I sense somebody hasn’t given it their all because I don’t want them to walk away with regret.”
Inaba has been serving as a judge on DWTS for 34 seasons, and she's currently on the judging panel with Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli. While she said she stands by many of her harsh critiques, Inaba admitted she doesn’t always get it right when she's giving out scores.
“None of us are ever 100 percent right. But I’m willing to risk that, and speak to them so that they have the opportunity to grow,” she said. “And when I speak woman to woman, I’m maybe a bit more frank. Maybe because I feel like women are tougher than men in some ways. This is how I speak with my girlfriends — very blunt and to the point, because I know they want the information. I think there is some truth to what they’re saying, but it’s not exactly what they’re saying.”
The professional choreographer has faced backlash for her judging during the current season 34, and she admitted she sometimes reads comments online and “always” takes them into consideration. However, Inaba said she finds it “very ironic” that some of her harshest critics happen to be women.
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“I go back and I review, and I try to understand why it feels that way,” she explained. “But in general, I think people are tougher on women. And what’s funny is they’re accusing me of being tougher on women while they’re being tougher on a woman.”
One example of Inaba's behavior that has been met with backlash was her harsh critiques of contestant Danielle Fishell. During the show's Dedication Night, Ibana was even booed by the audience when she gave Fishel, 44, and her pro partner, Pasha Pashkov, feedback on their performance.
“People blamed me about Danielle Fishel going home, and I had to look back at the scores,” Inaba said of the Boy Meets World alum's elimination during the November 4 episode. “My scores were not the lowest scores. That’s fans passionate for Danielle, and I can see the positive in that. And if they come at me for scoring Whitney [Leavitt] and Mark Ballas well, it’s because they love Alix Earle. There’s always a positive to even the most negative comments.”
This story was originally reported by Parade on Nov 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
