Viewers Slam ‘DWTS’ Judge Carrie Ann for ‘Unfair’ Scoring at the Show Finale – Details

On November 26, the finale of “Dancing with the Stars” (“DWTS”) season 33 aired, revealing the pair who walked away with the coveted Mirrorball trophy. Before the results were announced, the former five finalists faced off against each other in their respective performances. One score from “DWTS” judge Carrie Ann Inaba caused an online commotion.

The score in question was for dancing couple Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson’s final freestyle performance. Graziadei and Johnson danced their hearts out to “Canned Heart” by District 78 featuring Jake Simpson.

Dressed as tennis players with rackets, the pair’s lively performance saw them waltz, turn, and spin around the stage. While Johnson dazzled with impressive high kicks and flips, Graziadei matched her dancing prowess with his own distinct and unique moves.

At some point, they were joined by backup dancers, who added extra flair to their already show-stopping performance, which also included an eye-catching light spectacle and confetti.

After they finished, Inaba delivered her comments and score. A video shared on TikTok by a viewer of the show displayed the judge saying, “I found that to be just a tad underwhelming.”

Immediately, the crowd roared with boos at her response, which elicited shocked expressions from Johnson and Graziadei.

Nevertheless, Inaba continued, “I was expecting some — and listen, a freestyle can make or break somebody […] I’m so sorry to say that. I just found that some of the movements with the rackets had to be super tight because all the angles, they just didn’t nail it to me. The energies kind of dipped in the middle.”

Despite Inaba profusely apologizing, the audience, who were just as surprised as Johnson and Graziadei, continued to express their disagreement and disdain for what she said. Conversely, fellow judge, Derrick Hough, stood up from his seat to give the pair a big clap and cheer.

The TikToker included overlaid text, “Carrie Ann what are you talking about?” “She needs to go! This was my last straw with her! 😮💨 @Joey Graziadei you did AMAZING 👏🏻,” captioned the user alongside their video post.

In another video shared by someone else on TikTok, Graziadei and Johnson received their final scores from all three judges, including Bruno Tonioli. Inaba gave the duo a nine, while both Hough and Tonioli gave them tens, making their total score for the evening 29/30.

“Justice for Joey & Jenna!!!” reads text overlaid on the video. “that was so deserving a perfect score… carrie ann we have words for you [sic]…” expressed the TikTok user, which was a sentiment echoed by many others who felt that Johnson and Graziadei deserved a better score from Inaba.

“Carrie ann [sic] what?!?!?!? Were we watching the same dance????” pondered an Instagrammer, while another remarked, “officially ready for carrie ann to be replaced by mark after those comments about joey [sic].”

Agreeing with the comment, an observer responded, “THANK YOU!!!! She needs to go if she can’t judge fairly.” “Fire Carrie Anne fr,” added another upset viewer. Jumping on the disdain for Inaba bandwagon, yet another person expressed, “Please be Carrie Ann’s last season.”

“9??!! absolutely not. carrie ann. Leave [sic],” said an outraged viewer, while a spectator penned, “how was this UNDERWHELMING [sic].”

Additional comments include, “This was absolutely amazing 🙌🙌 should’ve been all 10’s [sic]. 🔥🔥🔥 Great job Joey and Jenna,” and “Congratulations to Joey and Jenna!!! So glad they won despite the unfair scoring (from Carrie Anne👎🏻) 🥳🥳.”

Despite garnering a nine from Inaba, Graziadei and Johnson were declared the winners of season 33. During the finale, which saw the contestants receive supportive videos from their loved ones, co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough announced the results.

They started by revealing that fifth place went to Danny Amendola and Witney Carson. Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold placed fourth; Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong came third, and Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten scored second place.

When Ribeiro announced Graziadei and Johnson as the victors, confetti came pouring down on the stage. Following this, the co-host asked Graziadei what winning the Mirrorball trophy means to him.

He replied, “It means everything. This whole experience has been unbelievable. Honestly, everyone from the beginning […] I love you, all the finalists in it, the judges — thank you for bearing with us, I tried my best, I promise!”

After the show, the winners caught up with Extra TV to discuss their victory. When asked how they felt, Graziadei mentioned how he was “speechless,” before adding, “It’s crazy, it hasn’t even sunk in yet […] It’s crazy. We’re so, so excited.”

He also gave a shoutout to his dance partner. “She gave me the ability to move those hips and take off some shirts,” quipped the TV personality. Johnson then chimed in to express how proud she is of Graziadei.

“I am so proud of him. This is an absolute dream come true. He’s been a dream partner, somebody that this show is all about. Someone with no dance experience coming in, putting their whole heart into it, and look what he’s been able to accomplish,” boasted Johnson.

She went on to say, “I wouldn’t have been able to do this with anybody else. So I’m just so beyond grateful that I got to experience these three months with him.”

Graziadei also spoke about how “amazing” his fiancée, Kelsey Anderson, was throughout his dance journey, and mentioned how she had come to see him backstage after he performed to tell him how proud she is of him.

Additionally, he gave an update on their upcoming plans to move into their new place in Los Angeles and figure out their wedding details.

In another video that E! News shared on Instagram, Graziadei and Johnson expressed their immense gratitude to all the fans who voted for them to win.

“This is for you guys, seriously. Thank you so much for ten weeks’ worth of support and love. We would not have this without you guys. So, from the bottom of my heart — I’m gonna cry again — thank you so much!” stated Johnson.

Chiming in, Joey Graziadei reiterated, “We really appreciate it. We’ve put in a lot of work, but we couldn’t do it without any of you. Like, there is no way we could have won this without the fans and the support, and the love, and we felt that from the beginning […] So we appreciate all of you.”