Alix Earle revealed that a comment made by Carrie Ann Inaba meant the most to her this season on Dancing with the Stars.
In a YouTube vlog posted days after Earle and her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy made it to the DWTS Season 34 finals, fellow pro Jenna Johnson said she loved that Inaba told Earle she had grown the most out of all of the contestants. “I love what Carrie Ann said,” Johnson told Earle. “Like you really are by far the most improved.”
“That, like, meant the most to me,” Earle replied. “Out of any comment ever.”
Following Earle and Chmerkovskiy’s Argentine tango to “Little Red Corvette” on Prince Night, Inaba said, “Out of all the competitors who are here tonight, you have grown the most, steadily, in all aspects of your performance. You’re really blossoming.”
Inaba also had positive feedback for Earle and Chmerkovskiy’s Viennese waltz to “Purple Rain,” saying, “A performance like this is going to go down in history.”
“You have blossomed,” the DWTS judge said. “Because you are exactly what we always want. We want somebody to grow. You grow and then you deliver this passionate, beautiful performance. I am so proud of you, Alix.”
“Dancing with the Stars” judges critique Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy. (Disney/Eric McCandless)Disney/Eric McCandless
After her DWTS semifinals performances, Earle told Entertainment Tonight she became emotional over Inaba’s positive words.
“Like when she said that, I just immediately started crying because I have been really, really pushing myself, and I have the best partner in the entire world who has pushed me to be a better dancer, a better person, and to just believe in myself,” the TikTok star said. “And it’s just so special getting to be here and hear that from the judges and even their critiques and comments tonight. I want to improve even more going into the finale. So, I’m ready.”
Inaba has been widely criticized for giving harsher critiques and lower scores to the female contestants on Dancing With the Stars. Earlier in the season, she gave Earle a backhanded compliment, saying her Wicked Night jazz “wasn’t your most difficult dance, but it was your best dance.”
In an interview with Variety, the veteran judge explained why the criticism about her critiques was “partly true.”
“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,” she explained. “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. … I’m willing to risk that, and speak to them so that they have the opportunity to grow.”
This story was originally reported by Parade on Nov 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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