Many Dancing With the Stars fans were unhappy that production didn’t have someone fill in for Carrie Ann Inaba as a judge for the Season 34 premiere.
Hours before the Sept. 16 premiere, Inaba shared that she had fallen ill and wouldn’t be able to attend the show, marking the first premiere she’s missed in all 33 seasons she’s been a judge.
“I wanted to share that I will not be at the show tonight as I am feeling quite under the weather. I’m resting up and can’t wait to be back next week in good health,” Inaba wrote on Instagram. “In the meantime, I wish all the contestants the very best of luck. I’ll be cheering you on from home. Have a great show everyone!”
Fans began to speculate if production would ask someone to step in for Inaba, but the decision was made to have Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli judge as a twosome. Many viewers sounded off on the decision on a Reddit thread.
“They easily could’ve asked Sasha,” one person wrote, suggesting that ballroom pro Sasha Farber could have taken on the role.
“Joey could of been host and Julianne could of been Judge,” someone else said, referring to Season 33 champ Joey Graziadei and longtime DWTS cast member, Julianne Hough. Julianne has served as a judge on the show in the past.
“I dont understand why they dont have someone on contract for situations like this. Have a backup judge that if someone has to leave then they fill in,” a third comment read.
“As much as I know he’s not well loved in this community, I’m sure one quick phone call and Maks would have filled in (and been a great judge),” a fourth Redditor added, throwing Maks Chmerkovskiy’s name in for a potential fill-in judge.
Other suggestions included former DWTS pros Peta Murgatroyd, Cheryl Burke and Sharna Burgess. It’s unknown if production attempted to contact anyone to fill in for Inaba, who is expected to return to her post on the Sept. 23 episode.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 17, 2025, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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