“Dancing with the Stars” judge Carrie Ann Inaba has admitted to giving female contestants on the show a harder time compared to the men.
During an interview with Variety, Inaba weighed in on the fan theories that the judge is more critical of the women on the show. The former dancer does not view that perspective as a negative.
“I think that it is partly true,” she told the outlet of the fan theories.
“I am the woman on the panel, and I understand what it is to be a woman, so I can get into more detail about what I’m seeing,” Inaba continued.
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She explained to the outlet that her approach is not meant to offend the women competing, but push them to reach their full potential.
“Because I support women so much, I let them know what I see because they are working so hard. I always feel it’s my responsibility if I sense somebody hasn’t given it their all because I don’t want them to walk away with regret,” Inaba said.
Carrie Ann also admitted that she’s more stern when critiquing the women on the show because they are “tougher than men in some ways.”
“None of us are ever 100 percent right,” she said, referring to the other judges, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough.
“But I’m willing to risk that and speak to them so that they have the opportunity to grow. And when I speak woman to woman, I’m maybe a bit more frank. Maybe because I feel like women are tougher than men in some ways,” Inaba said.
She continued, “This is how I speak with my girlfriends — very blunt and to the point, because I know they want the information. I think there is some truth to what they’re saying, but it’s not exactly what they’re saying.”
Inaba explained that she believes the world is tougher on women.
“But in general, I think people are tougher on women. And what’s funny is they’re accusing me of being tougher on women while they’re being tougher on a woman,” she noted.
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Inaba told the outlet that the negative reaction around some of her decisions has poorly affected her mental health. Variety noted that in the past several episodes, Inaba has been booed after giving contestants her score.
“Sometimes the things they say are cruel, and that has affected me. It’s made me scared. It’s not so much that I get hurt as I get afraid, because it feels like they’re like attacking me verbally, so I shrink down a little during the season, especially after week five or six. That’s when it usually starts to happen,” she said.
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However, since Inaba has been a judge on the show for 20 years, she has learned how to take negative feedback from fans.
“By doing that, it makes the online hate and vitriol that comes at me feel less like it can hurt me, because I’m very true to myself. When you’re true to yourself, it doesn’t matter as much what everybody else is saying about you,” she said.
