Returning DWTS Pro Defends Carrie Ann Inaba Against Scoring Backlash
Cheryl Burke think some “Dancing with the Stars” fans are unfairly harsh against Carrie Ann Inaba.
The former Fly Girl has been on the judges’ panel of the ABC ballroom competition since its debut in 2005. In addition to Inaba, the current panel includes fellow OG Bruno Tonioli, as well as six-time mirrorball champion Derek Hough. But Burke thinks Inaba gets the brunt of the criticism from fans for her scoring.
In an October 2025 interview with Variety, Burke, 41, said. “I agree that they go hard on her versus the two men sitting there. And I think that’s always been the case, and she has openly talked about it, how it’s harder for her.”
Burke, who is set to return to the DWTS ballroom as a guest judge for Halloween Night three years after exiting the show as a pro dancer, added, “I’ve experienced it, but in a different way; I’m outspoken about something vs. somebody who is a man, I do see the difference. But you don’t do it for the outside reaction. At the end of the day, this is her job, and she’s doing her job, and she’s doing it well.”
Carrie Ann Inaba Has Been Criticized for Her Scoring This Season on DWTS
For Season 34, fans have accused Inaba of favoring certain contestants—and being unfairly critical of others.
In response to an Instagram commenter who claimed about her scores, Inaba wrote, “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.”
But some of the pro dancers haven’t always appreciated Inaba’s comments. Pro dancer Pasha Pashkov took issue with Inaba’s critique of a dance he choreographed for his celebrity partner, Danielle Fishel. After Inaba claimed that the duo’s routines felt like she was “watching the same dance over and over again,” she was booed by the audience. Pashkov later told Variety that he was “not happy” with Inaba’s comments.
“For me, that comment felt unfair, especially being that she said that the dances looked similar,” he said. “The thing is, we did have a quickstep and we had a jive this week. These are two dances that very, very similar. … 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.”
Cheryl Burke Suggested the DWTS Judges Should Take an Exam
In the past, Burke has said all of the DWTS judges could use a refresher course in ballroom rules. In an episode of her Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast, Burke said the judges “have to be able to back up whatever they say” in regards to true ballroom dance.
She added that the current DWTS judges are “not experts in the niche of ballroom dancing” and could be required to “continue to educate themselves on their craft” just as the pro dancers do.
“I also think Derek should take his adjudicator’s exam,” Burke said, referencing The National Dance Council of America exams that are required for judges in national dance competitions. “Carrie Ann should do it… so should Bruno. I think that’s important, and why wouldn’t you wanna do that? After all these years, if you weren’t as familiar with the genre, why don’t you familiarize yourself with it?“ she added.
For her first go-around as a DWTS judge, Burke told Variety she hopes to be “empowering and encouraging.”
“But of course, I’m going to be constructive,” she added. “Ultimately, I want to help these people. Yes, we’re going to compliment them if they did a great job. But I think for me, I really want to get into the technical aspect of things, regardless of the theme. I’m looking for authenticity between the two people dancing with one another, authenticity to the style of dance that was assigned.”
DWTS’ Maks Chmerkovskiy Thinks Rylee Arnold Is ‘Still Learning’ After Exit
Former Dancing With the Stars pro Maks Chmerkovskiy has notes for Rylee Arnold after her elimination from season 34 alongside partner
“He was completely undertaught,” Chmerkovskiy, 45, said on the Friday, October 24, episode of the “Penthouse With Peta” podcast, referring to the Pentatonix singer. “This is not a dig at Rylee.”
Chmerkovskiy pointed to one moment in the pair’s Wicked Night contempo
rary routine — which earned all 7s from judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli and guest judge
“This particular moment, I’m not digging at Rylee,” Chmerkovskiy continued. “I believe that this is a matter of experience for Rylee to understand that, in this case, he needed her to be facing him looking at him and making him learn and making him repeat and place his hands. Who but Rylee and where she comes from knows what cleaning means. So, they didn’t have time to clean, then you spend too much time on over choreographing the situation.”
When podcast host Peta Murgatroyd asked whether he thought it was “cleaning” or whether Hoying “brainfarted,” Chmerkovskiy replied, “The rest of the routine when he didn’t forget looked just the same.”
“His arms were down, he wasn’t clear with his movement. It wasn’t polished, it wasn’t finished. It wasn’t Scott that we expected because he’s better than this,” Chmerkovskiy said. “This was not his best dance and it was the last dance he did.”
Chmerkovskiy alleged that viewers could “see it in the room” that the performance “wasn’t spectacular,” while noting that Arnold’s movement was “spectacular.”
“She looked fantastic. This dress was incredible,” Chmerkovskiy said. “She looked amazing from the first moment. Bang, look I’m getting goosebumps. It was awesome. But Rylee, sweetheart, it’s not your job to be that. Your job is to make sure he is that. And I didn’t see it in her.”
Murgatroyd noted that she thinks DWTS had “higher hopes” for Hoying.
“High high hopes, like finals for him. And we all thought when they were paired together, ‘Oh god, they’re definitely gonna be in the finals,’” she said.
However, Murgatroyd claimed that moments of Hoying’s routine during Wicked Night were “really great,” pointing to his “side by side choreography” with Arnold.
“I thought that he matched her,” Murgatroyd said, while Chmerkovskiy interjected, “It looked casual. … But who’s looking at him and says, ‘Your arm is down. Let’s do it again. You have to extend. You have to present. You have to show up.’”
While Chmerkovskiy noted that he doesn’t know “what goes on in the room” during rehearsals, he explained that he’s “speculating.”
“I don’t know if Rylee did 80 percent of coaching and 20 percent of running the routine. I don’t know,” Chmerkovskiy said. “Scott may be the worst person to be in the room with. [But] he seems like a sweetheart to me, honestly. And I think they have a great relationship.”
He continued, “I believe that Scott was undertrained and underrehearsed. That’s what that dance looked like. Whoever it came from. Maybe Rylee is still young, she’s still learning. She’s still taking on responsibilities the way she can put her foot down and say, ‘This is what we have to do.’ I don’t know.”
As Chmerkovskiy and Murgatroyd recalled their past experiences being pros on DWTS, she admitted to making her celebrity partners do “too harder stuff that they can’t handle.”
“I would see sometimes they would handle [the move], but it wasn’t a definite — they have it every single time. I learned that as I went along,” Murgatroyd said. “I was like, ‘If it doesn’t work by day three, then it’s out.’ And you gotta learn that.”
