‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Witney Carson Responds to Season 33 Criticism of Judges

Michael Maloney November 19, 2024, 4:58 pm

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Witney Carson — 'Dancing With the Stars' Season 33 — Disney / Andrew Eccles

Dancing With the Stars judges are getting “scored” themselves this season—not by the show’s stars and pro dancers but rather by online bloggers and social media fans of the show. One criticism they’re receiving is that the comments that they’re giving about a couple’s Viennese Waltz (for example) aren’t exactly helpful as they won’t be doing that dance again anytime soon, if ever.

TV Insider chatted with Season 33 semi-finalist Witney Carson and past DWTS pro Anna Trebunskaya and asked them what they think about the online backlash that’s being directed to judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli.

Carson actually believes that feedback from the judges about a particular dance is applicable to future routines—well, sometimes. “When they talk about frame, I think that’s very important [so] that we can take that into our next dance,” Carson tells TV Insider. She adds that too much critique about a specific dance that’s just been performed “is not super-helpful.”

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— Katie (@KatieBoBatie4) November 13, 2024

That said, the Mirrorball champion holds the judges in high regard. “We have to respect [what they say] and take everything we can and improve,” Carson says. “They’ve been doing an amazing job. It has to be really hard to judge this type of competition because everybody is so different in their own right. [Each pair] makes you feel something, even if they’re not technically perfect. I think the judges are masters in what they do.”

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Trebunskaya, who has competed in 11 of DWTS‘ 33 seasons and went to the finals in Season 2 with Olympic gold medal-winning ice-skater Evan Lysacek, comes from an informed perspective on judging. She’s not only a certified licensed instructor but is also a licensed adjudicator and national judge for the National Dance Council of America.

“It’s very easy to criticize from the outside looking in,” Trebunskaya says of the online backlash the judges are facing. “Whether you’re sitting in a judge’s chair on Dancing With the Stars or if you’re in the judge’s shoes when you’re standing on a panel at a national championship, you’ve been given a product that you are judging at the time you receive it. When you’re on the spot, you have to make that decision.”

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— nebraskalex (@alexis_menard) November 13, 2024

Trebunskaya concurs with Carson that show’s judges are doing a very good job. “They’ve had so much experience,” she says. “Bruno also judges Strictly Come Dancing [in the United Kingdom]. He’s going to focus on what he focuses on. Every single critique that Carrie Ann gave [on the 500^th episode], I would agree with 100 percent. I also would say, ‘Yeah, I can see that’ with what Derek said, too. You have to remember that these judges are people, too. If they’re connected to [what they see] on an emotional level, then, that’s a winner.”

Dancing With the Stars, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC