‘Dancing With the Stars’: Nelly Stands up for Carrie Ann Inaba After Bullying Claims

Nelly is standing up for Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba after some people heavily criticized her judging. According to viewers, it seems like Inaba is rather harsh to some of the contestants and their dancing pros, including her ex Artem Chigvintsev, but she recently came under fire after her pointers for Nelly. However, the “Ride Wit Me” rapper is now coming her to defense, saying it’s nothing personal; she’s just doing her job.

“She’s just doing her job,” he said, according to TooFab. “Carrie Ann’s sweet. Yo, she’s so dope. Carrie Ann is an ex Fly Girl. You can never be mad at an ex Fly Girl. You know what I’m saying? Nah, they gotta leave my girl alone.” Nelly is now in the final six and is wanting to win the 29 Mirrorball Trophy. “I just want to win at the end of the day so I know it’s a competition, but it’s never nothing personal. She’s so sweet. All of the judges is dope.”

“I mean, you know it’s a competition,” he continued to explain while in Los Angeles. “So you upset about what you thinking, but it’s not personal. Carrie Ann is dope. All of them is dope. You know what I mean? Nah it’s cool — she’s sweet.” Viewers have criticized Inaba over the years for her pointers and tips she gives both the pros and the celebrity dancers; however, Inaba isn’t thrilled people are assuming she’s harsh towards her ex simply because they had a past.

She and Chigvintsev called it quits in 2009 after they dated for almost three years, but she recently openly discussed on her show The Talk that she finds it outrageous people bully the way they do, especially in their adult years. “I still get bullied. Right about this time is when people start to bully me because of the way I judge people. I can’t believe it still happens as adults,” she explained.

While she has zero tolerance for it, she does have a piece of advice for online trolls. “I want to tell people who bully: it doesn’t make me change the way I judge. I’m not about to change because you try to bully me. It only makes me stand stronger in my convictions and what I believe in.” This season, things are a little different inside the ballroom since there is no live audience. Usually, she and the other judges will get a few boos from the audience, but now it seems like people are really venting their thoughts online.