‘DWTS’ Finalists Defend Carrie Ann Inaba Amid Backlash for Inconsistent Judging

Actress Elaine Hendrix and gold medal-winning Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles were the first and last celebrities, respectively, to learn that they are going to the Finals next week on Dancing With the Stars during the November 18 episode.

After the show, TV Insider spoke to them, and their respective pro partners, Alan Bersten and Ezra Sosa, on the ballroom floor about their reactions to learning they were advancing, and on the heavy criticism the judges have been facing this season. Carrie Ann Inaba, especially, has come under fire for perceived inconsistencies.

Last week, Inaba told finalist Robert Irwin, “I know we all saw that foot come off the ground but I have to say that sometimes…there are moments that make us change the way we do things. This dance was so powerful, so profound…you have turned into a beautiful storyteller with your heart open. Who cares about lifts?”

This week, Inaba was more of a stickler to the rules when it came to Whitney Leavitt and her pro partner Mark Ballas, taking a point off of their Viennese waltz for a “hop” or two.

“That was…my absolute favorite [of yours],” Inaba told Leavitt after her performance. “It felt so authentically you. You unmasked. You showed us, truly, your soul and how much you love to dance. I just want to thank you for that. There was a bit of a ‘hop’ so I had to mark for that, but what you did, please, no one can take that away from you. That was outstanding.”

When Derek Hough questioned his fellow judge, Inaba noted that she actually saw two hops. At the end of the night, Leavitt was eliminated.

Disney/Eric McCandless

Chiles maintains that there’s nothing wrong with Inaba’s ruling. “I have been in a world where you constantly get judged,” Chiles said. “I am a gymnast and I understand what’s like to be in the spotlight. Yes, they are going to judge [the dances] the way they see them. You can only go out there and do what you do. Is everything going to be perfect? No. We’re on a TV show, right?”

“Judging is judging,” Chiles continued. “The judges are human beings and they have their own opinions the same way that everyone else does. The judges are amazing. I don’t think people should go and bash them for anything. It’s not right.”

“What’s not said enough is that dance is extremely subjective,” Sosa added. “Everyone’s going to have a different opinion on every single dance. That’s what makes the show polarizing, but also so captivating.”

“The judges have the hardest job,” said Bersten. “They don’t have a lot of time, they’re trying to help us so they’re giving notes, and they have to give a score that people might not always agree with. We need them to do our jobs. We need the judges.”

Hendrix was touched when Inaba came out from behind the desk to embrace her in celebration of her paso doble. “That was everything,” Hendrix said with a smile. “I’ve been a Carrie Ann Inaba fan long before this show, before she was a Fly Girl [on In Living Color], so to have that acknowledgement from her just hit me really deep in my core. I just appreciate her so much. She didn’t need to do that.”

For Hendrix and Bersten, the cherry on top was being announced as the first couple to make the finale, although the results are read in no particular order. “If they were going to do that at any time this season, I’m glad it was for the finale,” Bersten admitted.

“I’m on cloud nine,” added Hendrix, who said with a smile, “They put us out of our misery very quickly!”

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Of the five pros going to the finals, Sosa is the only one who hasn’t won the coveted Len Goodman Memorial Mirrorball trophy. His first season was last year with Anna Delvey,  and the two were voted off in the second week of the competition. This year, he’s going to the finals with Chiles.

“[Ezra] has so much talent,” Chiles shared. “The first thing I said to him was that I want this to be somewhere where you can shine. You deserve to,  just like every other pro. You deserve to be in spotlight. I told him to push me as best he could. It’s really cool that I get to be on this journey with him.”

Finding out he was advancing over three-time mirror ball champion Mark Ballas was an out-of-body experience for the sophomore pro.

“I have so much respect for Mark,” Sousa said. “I’ve grown up watching him, idolizing him, hoping that I could someday have something even close to the impact that he’s had on the show. Seeing him and Whitney go was heartbreaking. Whitney was so incredible. Mark is a legend.”

Of his own partner, he added, “This girl, right here? She’s everything to me.”

Dancing With the Stars, Season 34 Finale, Tuesday, November 25, 8/7c, ABC