As Dancing with the Stars Season 33 gets closer to crowning the next recipient of the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy amid the 2024 TV schedule, the dancing competition series has been getting intense. While some dance routines have scored big, with Olympian Ilona Maher's Encanto performance being one of them, fans have been voicing their thoughts on eliminations and scorings. Some may suggest that that's getting out of hand -- so much so that it might be causing some behind-the-scenes drama with judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Toniloi.
Since last week’s Halloween Nightmares episode, viewers have apparently been calling out Inaba’s scoring tendencies, particularly when it comes to the female contestants. Viewers criticized the longtime judge for seemingly giving out 10s to many contestant, particularly the males, and supposedly not fairly critiquing Ilona Maher and actress Chandler Kinney. It's worth noting that both ladies technically had the most difficult dances of the night. Kinney also begged Inaba to tell her how to improve since she didn’t get much specific feedback.
If a source for The U.S. Sun is to be believed, the host's method of giving out scores is supposedly causing issues backstage. The person claimed that the judge allegedly “doesn’t have her place quite like she used to” on set. They also said the following:
She doesn’t fit in as well as she once did. That's not to say she's doing a bad job necessarily but again, she just doesn't fit in with the show or crew like she once did. It's led to many awkward moments on set, some captured by the cameras.
Of course, those claims have not be substantiated by anyone from the show or by representatives from ABC. Nevertheless, the insider also alleges that Carrie Ann Inaba's stint on the long-running program could be at stake and that her relationship with her fellow judges has reportedly changed:
[Her] time seems to be up. I think it's only a matter time before the show pulls the trigger and brings in someone who the audience is excited about. Bruno and Derek love Carrie Ann, but they haven't been on the same page as her all season. It's been frustrating for them to try to play off her unpredictable behavior.
Having been a judge since 2005, Carrie Ann Inaba has been known to share very honest feedback and, in a number of cases, it's been focused on lifts. More recently, fans haven't minced words when it comes to her judging routines. After the Halloween installment, social media user lovedyoutruly, for instance, shared a blunt assessment.
Again, we'll have to take these comments on Inaba’s supposed future on Dancing with the Stars with a massive grain of salt. That aside, former pro Mark Ballas’ name is purportedly one that “gets tossed around the most” when it comes to a theoretical successor for her. Ballas, who won Season 31 with Charli D'Amelio, was a guest judge for Dedication Night and some have been pitching him to be a permanent host, including afterglowpjo of X.
That aside, DWTS will be off this week due to the Presidential Election, but the series will return on November 12 for the big 500th episode on ABC and will be streamable with a Disney+ subscription.