# Carrie Ann Inaba Hate on Dancing With Stars > Dancing With Stars judges face backlash over lift calls. - Title: Carrie Ann Inaba Hate on Dancing With Stars · Cosmopolitan - Summary: Dancing With Stars judges face backlash over lift calls. Carrie Ann Inaba faces criticism for calling out illegal lifts on Dancing With Stars despite her… - Keywords: carrie ann inaba, dancing with stars, dancing with stars season 29, dancing with stars season 34, val chmerkovskiy, jenna johnson, jenna dewan, kaitlyn bristowe, arthur chigvintsev, maksim chmerkovskiy, hope solo, tony dovolani - Source: Cosmopolitan — https://cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a74196208/dancing-with-stars-carrie-ann-inaba-criticism - Author: Corinne Sullivan - Published: 2026-10-21T20:40:48+00:00 - Read time: 1 min - Topics: carrie ann inaba, dancing with stars, dancing with stars season 29, dancing with stars season 34, val chmerkovskiy, jenna johnson, jenna dewan, kaitlyn bristowe, arthur chigvintsev, maksim chmerkovskiy, hope solo, tony dovolani ## Carrie Ann Inaba's lift criticism Carrie Ann Inaba started criticizing illegal lifts on Dancing With Stars during season 5 when she called out pro Tony Dovolani for an illegal lift. > Because she does not know anything about ballroom, I figured she should at least read the rule book ## Tony Dovolani's response Tony Dovolani presented Carrie Ann with a ballroom rule book the following night after she criticized his illegal lift. > I highlighted the parts I wanted her to read, including the description of what a lift is ## Carrie Ann's point deductions Carrie Ann is the only judge who consistently calls out illegal lifts and deducts points for them on Dancing With Stars. > I am the only one who takes off a point for lifts, which I think is fair, because if we all did, the contestants’ scores would suffer greatly for something that is not that serious of a crime ## Artem Chigvintsev's reaction Artem Chigvintsev accused Carrie Ann of being a bitter ex after she deducted a point from his illegal lift during season 29. > At this point, it starts being a little personal ## Val Chmerkovskiy's criticism Val Chmerkovskiy called Carrie Ann's ability into question after she flagged an illegal lift during his wife Jenna Johnson’s samba. > I don’t know what Carrie Ann is saying at all ## Val's online bullying Val Chmerkovskiy threatened physical violence against Carrie Ann with a meme and joked about where she parks her car after she flagged an illegal lift. > I would give it a different design if Carrie Ann continued to be too hard on my partner ## Carrie Ann's fear Carrie Ann revealed she feels scared by online criticism and shrinks during the season after week five or six. > It’s made me scared, it’s not so much that I get hurt as I get afraid ## Dedication Night feedback Carrie Ann delivered feedback for Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas’s paso doble, pointing out the lift but being sheepish and apologetic. > Who cares about lifts? It was a Dedication Night routine honoring Robert’s late father, Steve Irwin ## Fan backlash Fans accused Carrie Ann of being inconsistent, tougher on female dancers, and having poor motives and tone after she called out illegal lifts. > It’s really just not that deep ## Key takeaway Carrie Ann Inaba faces criticism for calling out illegal lifts on Dancing With Stars despite her consistent point deductions.