‘Dancing With the Stars’ Fans Go After Carrie Ann Inaba for Criticizing ‘Bachelorette’ Kaitlyn Bristowe

Carrie Ann Inaba continued to pile on Kaitlyn Bristowe during Monday’s episode of Dancing With the Stars. This comes a week after the Halloween-themed Villians Night saw Bristowe and her partner, Artem Chigvintsev, receive some harsh criticism from the judge.

Before Inaba critiqued, Bristowe received some positive feedback from Derek Hough, who said she was “amazing” and “someone who could go all the way” before he gave her a 9 as his score. Inaba, though, took a different direction. “I’m a little torn right no — can you do a back-tap on your own?” Inaba asked Bristowe. “I’m going to call that a lift,” and deducted some points for lifting during a jive. Bristowe fired back, “Yes, I can,” which drew some cheers from the spectators. Inaba fought the other judges who felt it wasn’t a lift. After all was said and done, Bristowe fared pretty well with a pair of 8s and one 9 for a score of 25 out of 30.

Last week, Inaba dished out a 7 compared to the 8 and 9 the other two judges gave her for her routine. She called Bristowe out for what she perceived to be “giving up” during her dance with Chigvintsev, who as many fans of the show pointed out on social media is Inaba’s ex and could explain the harsh criticism. Gossip aside, here are some of the reactions to Inaba’s tough critiques on Bristowe.

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While Inaba’s judging has been harsh so far, it hasn’t stopped Bristowe from being among the highest-scoring celebrities in the season. After Monday’s routine, the pair has totaled 193 points for an average of 24.1 out of 30.

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Bristowe isn’t the only member of Bachelor Nation to be on the receiving end of tough love from Inaba. Two seasons ago, Inaba was not always the biggest fan of Hannah Brown, who eventually went on to win the Mirror Ball. 

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The two women have actually joked about sharing a bond over Inaba disliking both of them. On Bristowe’s Off the Vine podcast, Brown said she took the judges’ comments personally and felt hurt more times than not after hearing their feedback. 

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Speaking specifically about Inaba, Brown called her “intuitive” but did feel her comments came across stronger than the other judges’. Bristowe has continually said she feels judged the hardest by Inaba, especially after the Halloween round. 

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Some fans speculated that Inaba’s tough love doesn’t have to do with Bristowe, but rather her partner, Chigvintsev. The two dated in 2006 after meeting on the set of So You Think You Can Dance. 

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Bristowe first came to the public eye for her appearance on Season 19 of The Bachelor and later as the leading lady on Season 11 of The Bachelorette. Her engagement with Shawn Booth ended after three years. 

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Dancing With the Stars will continue to air every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. After the latest episode, just seven couples are left in the competition.