Carrie Ann Inaba is once again at the center of a Dancing With the Stars scoring debate after Mariah Carey Night produced one of Season 35’s most controversial judging moments.
This time, the frustration wasn’t about an unusually low score.
It was about the first 9 of the entire season.
Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas delivered an elegant Waltz to Mariah Carey’s “If It’s Over,” earning the highest total of the night with 25 out of 30.
Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli each awarded the routine an 8.
Carrie Ann went one point higher.
She gave Maura a 9, becoming the first judge this season to raise the 9 paddle.
Carrie Ann was visibly moved by the performance and praised the artistry Maura displayed throughout the routine.
Maura herself appeared stunned by the score, while Mark Ballas celebrated beside her.
But almost immediately, viewers began debating whether that 9 was deserved.
Some fans argued that several earlier performances had been equally strong — or stronger — yet had received nothing higher than an 8.
That included Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson, and Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy, who each finished the night with 24 out of 30 after receiving three 8s.
Then there was Amber Glenn.
Amber and Pasha Pashkov performed a Rumba and received 23 out of 30.
Derek and Bruno both gave Amber an 8.
Carrie Ann gave her a 7.
That one-point difference became an important part of the online debate because some viewers believed Amber’s performance deserved recognition equal to — or greater than — the routines receiving higher marks.
Fan discussion afterward included arguments that Amber deserved the first 9, while others defended Carrie Ann’s 7 by pointing to technical issues in Amber’s Rumba.
That disagreement is important.
There is no objective proof that Carrie Ann was favoring Maura.
Judging ballroom performances inevitably includes interpretation, and Carrie Ann clearly responded strongly to the emotional and artistic qualities of Maura and Mark’s Waltz.
But viewers are questioning whether she is applying the same standard consistently across contestants.
And the controversy didn’t exist in isolation.
Earlier during the same episode, Carrie Ann was loudly booed after criticizing Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson’s Samba to “Obsessed.”
She questioned where Guillermo’s usual joy had gone and urged him not to “dim” the personality that had made him popular with viewers.
The ballroom audience immediately pushed back with boos.
Guillermo ultimately received a 4 from Carrie Ann, a 4 from Derek and a 5 from Bruno for 13 out of 30, leaving him at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Witney later publicly disagreed with Carrie Ann’s interpretation.
She explained that Guillermo had deliberately performed with a more serious attitude because they were portraying a diva character for the routine, rather than because his usual enthusiasm had disappeared.
Together, those moments created a difficult night for Carrie Ann.
Some viewers felt she was being overly harsh toward certain contestants while becoming more generous with others.
The strongest criticism centered on Maura’s 9 because Derek and Bruno — judging the exact same performance — still remained at 8.
But it is also worth noting that Maura and Mark’s dance was widely praised beyond Carrie Ann’s score.
Derek described the performance as beautiful ballroom dancing, and Maura and Mark still would have been among the night’s strongest couples even without the 9.
So the controversy isn’t really about whether Maura danced well.
She clearly did.
The argument is about consistency.
If Maura’s performance crossed the line from an 8 to a 9, viewers want to understand why other strong performances didn’t.
And with judges’ scores combining with viewer votes to determine eliminations, every single point can matter.
That scrutiny became even more intense after Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong were eliminated the same night despite delivering their highest-scoring performance of the season with 21 out of 30.
Carrie Ann has been part of Dancing With the Stars since the beginning, and disagreements with judges have always been part of the show.
But after Mariah Carey Night, one unexpected 9 has created a much bigger question among fans:
Are contestants being judged by the same standard — or are some performances simply connecting with Carrie Ann more than others?
