Red red Carrie Ann Inaba found herself on the receiving end of one of the loudest audience reactions of Dancing With the Stars Season 35 after criticizing fan-favorite Guillermo Rodriguez during Mariah Carey Night.
Guillermo and his professional partner Witney Carson performed a samba to Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed,” bringing another playful routine to the ballroom as the longtime Jimmy Kimmel Live! personality continued his unlikely run through the competition.
But Carrie Ann believed something important was missing.
After the dance, she questioned Guillermo about where his usual joy had gone and told him she felt as though he had been “dimming” the personality that normally shines through his performances.
The studio audience reacted immediately.
Loud boos broke out around the ballroom, making it clear that many fans strongly disagreed with Carrie Ann’s assessment.
Carrie Ann tried to defend the criticism by reminding the crowd that judging the performances was her job.
“This is what I get paid for, people!” she told the audience before attempting to explain what she meant.
She clarified that she wasn’t trying to take away from what makes Guillermo special.
Instead, Carrie Ann said she wanted him to show more of the natural charm and happiness that has helped make him one of the season’s biggest audience favorites.
She encouraged Guillermo not to hide that quality in future performances and told him she wanted to see more of his “light.”
But the clarification did little to quiet the reaction inside the ballroom, with the boos continuing as Carrie Ann finished her comments.
Guillermo and Witney later pushed back on the critique themselves.
Guillermo explained that his serious expression was intentional because he was trying to portray a diva during a routine set to “Obsessed.”
“I was trying to be a diva,” he said afterward, making it clear that he didn’t believe his usual personality had disappeared.
Witney agreed.
She explained that the expression a dancer uses depends on both the song and the character they are portraying, and she argued that Guillermo’s natural personality hadn’t gone anywhere.
Witney even described Carrie Ann’s comment as “out of pocket,” while insisting that Guillermo’s personality would continue to come through regardless of whether he was smiling during every moment of a routine.
The judges were also tough when it came time to score the dance.
Carrie Ann and Derek Hough each gave Guillermo a 4, while Bruno Tonioli awarded a 5, leaving Guillermo and Witney with 13 out of 30 — the lowest score of Mariah Carey Night.
Despite the low score, the pair survived another elimination.
Guillermo’s continued popularity with viewers has repeatedly helped him remain in the competition even while sitting near the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard.
That support was impossible to miss during Carrie Ann’s critique.
The audience may not control the judges’ paddles, but their reaction made one thing extremely clear: Guillermo has become one of Season 35’s most fiercely supported contestants.
And on Mariah Carey Night, simply questioning the joy that made viewers fall in love with him was enough to turn the ballroom against one of its own judges.
