‘Dancing With the Stars’: Carrie Ann Inaba Dresses as Pennywise From ‘It’

Dancing With the Stars brought out all of the stops for its Halloween-themed Villains night. All three judges — Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli — donned costumes that portrayed classic villains from Halloween lore. In particular, Inaba went all out for her outfit as she dressed as Pennywise from It (complete with a red balloon).

On Instagram, Inaba shared a sneak peek of her costume to her followers. She wrote, alongside a close-up photo of her face covered with white and red makeup on it, “Guess who’s coming to the judges table tonight… (cue scary laugh).” The judge noted that her makeup was done by Marylin Lee, an Emmy Award-winning makeup artist who has worked on DWTS, The Talk, and The Voice. During the episode, Inaba kept in character as Pennywise, as she appeared on the panel with her full look (a.k.a. the clown’s traditional outwit) and a red balloon. But, after the first performance of the night (from The Real co-host Jeannie Mai and her partner Brendon Armstrong), she popped the balloon to shock the audience and really get in the spooky spirit.

In an interview with TV Insider, published in mid-October, Inaba explained that she has actually received some of her fashion inspiration from new host Tyra Banks. “Tyra has been inspiring me in a way to have a lot more fun getting dressed up for the show,” the judge shared. “We got the memo: ‘Met Gala meets ballroom dancing.’ … I’ve been doing the show for 29 seasons so, it’s nice to have a little bit of a change.” Elsewhere in the interview, Inaba opened up about the changes for Season 29 on the ABC competition. More specifically, she addressed the fact that Banks has taken over for longtime host Tom Bergeron and his co-host Erin Andrews.

“I miss seeing Tom and Erin, of course, because we’re like family,” Inaba said. “[But] I do think Tyra’s brought really amazing energy. It’s been controversial, yes, but she has an excitement to her that is hard to put into words and that’s what makes people want to tune in. She’s so passionate about what she does. And I’m loving the fact that she’s bringing this fashion game to the show. … Dancing With the Stars is a huge show and it is not easy for any of us. She’s done an amazing job and has taken it in her own direction.”