Carrie Ann Inaba didn’t go easy on the Dancing With the Stars contestants in the finale including Charity Lawson — and the crowd wasn’t happy.
“Redemption. That was amazing. The way you danced that with passion and the connection between you and Artem [Chigvintsev]. I could feel it the whole time,” Inaba, 55, said during the Tuesday, December 5, season finale. “This is the finale and I have to call everything I see. I did see something that looked like maybe it was a mistake and I honestly don’t know but I have to call it in order to be fair, but it was absolutely what I was asking for.”
While giving her feedback, the crowd erupted in boos for Inaba, passionately disagreeing with her position. Meanwhile, fellow judge Derek Hough seemingly didn’t agree there was a misstep and had nothing but praise Lawson’s skills.
“That was, in my opinion, the best dance of the night so far,” Hough, 38, gushed. “That was captivating, it was fierce. It was so strong and so intense. That is a dance I want to see in the final.”
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Inaba issued the tango as the former Bachelorette’s redemption dance challenge. While in rehearsals, the judge told Lawson, 27, that she wanted to see her work in her “confidence” since she dances “beautifully.”
“If she nails it, it’s going to be 10, 10, 10,” Inaba said in a confessional.
As Inaba watched Lawson and Chigvintsev, 41, in rehearsals, she provided feedback — which the reality star appreciated.
“I am taking every single bit of her advice because it is [the] finale,” Lawson shared. “It’s now or never, and I’m going to show her what she’s been wanting but also believes that is in me.”
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While speaking to cohost Julianne Hough, Lawson was gracious for Inaba’s feedback and credited her for helping improve the dance exponentially. Lawson ended up receiving a total of 29 for the dance: two 10s from Hough and Bruno Tonioli in addition to a 9 from Inaba. “Sorry,” she said before holding up her paddle.
Last month, Inaba admitted that being the sole woman judge on the DWTS panel has its fair share of challenges.
“As the only female judge for most of the seasons, I get a lot more hate than the men do,” she said at the Variety Women Of Reality TV event in November. “I’m the judge who cries, yes that’s true,” Inaba said while tearing up. “People doubt what I say. … I feel like I have to fight harder for my opinion to be honored.”
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