‘DWTS’ Pro Explains His Strong Reaction to Judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s Criticism

Brandon Armstrong wasn’t too receptive to Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba‘s feedback about his and Chandler Kinney‘s performance at the semifinals. During the Nov. 19 episode of the dance competition, Brandon and Chandler first performed a salsa routine that earned them a 29. But it was their second dance, a foxtrot, that had Carrie Ann calling out the pro for not following the rules of ballroom style dances. Her critique caught Armstrong off guard.

“I was not disagreeing with the fact that her foot came off the ground,” Brandon told Us Weekly. “She can take the point, knock the point. No issue.” Brandon was confused with judge saying she warned him and Kinney about the mistake previously.

“This man, he speaks before he thinks. He was just trying to rack his brain about what the other time was so we know how to improve and move forward,” Chandler told Us. Brandon added: “All I was saying is that I don’t think she had said it to us — that she had warned us about doing tricks in the past that you shouldn’t. She has mentioned that to other couples.” Not recalling the previous alleged warning, Chandler speculated that Carrie Ann had “conflated” it “with someone else” in the competition. They received another 29 score for the performance.

“I want to clarify I’m not upset with Carrie Ann,” he told Julianne Hough during the show. “I just didn’t remember her mentioning the lifts with us before. I love you, Carrie Ann!”

In his conversation with Us, he explained: “All I was saying was, ‘Oh I don’t think you’ve said that.’ That’s why I said, ‘Who me?’ Like, you haven’t warned us about that. That being said, she’s a gangster. All the respect. There’s no other intentions.”

Armstrong began working on the show as a troupe member on season 24. He remained in that role until season 26 before he was promoted to a pro in season 27.