Carrie Ann Inaba Claps Back Against Heckler During Live ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Finale

Carrie Ann Inaba is clapping back at the criticism.

The Dancing With the Stars judge called out an audience member who heckled her during Tuesday’s live Season 34 finale as she critiqued Jordan Chiles and pro partner Ezra Sosa’s paso doble to Rihanna’s “Breakin’ Dishes.”

“You’re a pleasure to work with because you are so intense,” Inaba said. “I love that you attack every movement full out. I think this number, when you first started, your attack was a little too strong, and it felt like it disconnected you just a tiny bit.”

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It was then that the heckler called out to defend Chiles, prompting Inaba to stand up and shout, “What? What did you say?” Co-host Alfonso Ribeiro immediately moved things along to judge Derek Hough’s critique, diffusing the tension as he told Inaba, “Don’t worry about that.”

Inaba’s judging has drawn criticism in the past, which, as she told Variety earlier this month, “used to really affect” her.

“I have been targeted with this kind of negativity since the show began, back when we had chat rooms. I remember seeing some horrible words written about me, and I was shocked, because as a dancer, you’re used to just getting the fan love,” she told the outlet. “Now, as a judge, I recognize I was stepping into a whole different sphere, and I think the way I have always coped with it is that if I’m going to judge and speak my opinions freely, whether they’re popular or unpopular, I do believe I have to give the same grace to everyone else.”

Inaba also admitted that the criticism that she judges women more harshly than men is “partly true,” as she can “get into more detail about what I’m seeing” as a fellow female dancer.

“And when I speak woman to woman, I’m maybe a bit more frank,” she confessed. “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.”

Competing in the finale alongside Chiles and Sosa were Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach, Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten, Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy and Robert Irwin and Witney Carson, who ultimately walked away with the Mirrorball Trophy at the end of the evening.