What To Know<\/h3>\n\n\n- Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba came under fire for docking points from some contestants for lifts, but not others.<\/li>\n
- After the 2025 Semifinals, some of the finalists and their pro partners reacted to the backlash in exclusive interviews with TV Insider.<\/li>\n
- Elaine Hendrix, Alan Bersten, Jordan Chiles, and Ezra Sosa defended Inaba from the critics.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n
Actress Elaine Hendrix<\/a> and gold medal-winning Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles<\/a> were the first and last celebrities, respectively, to learn that they are going to the Finals<\/a> next week on Dancing With the Stars<\/a> during the November 18 episode.<\/p>\nAfter the show, TV Insider spoke to them, and their respective pro partners, Alan Bersten<\/a> and Ezra Sosa<\/a>, on the ballroom floor about their reactions to learning they were advancing, and on the heavy criticism the judges have been facing this season. Carrie Ann Inaba<\/a>, especially, has come under fire<\/a> for perceived inconsistencies.<\/p>\nLast week, Inaba told finalist Robert Irwin<\/a>, \u201cI know we all saw that foot come off the ground but I have to say that sometimes\u2026there are moments that make us change the way we do things. This dance was so powerful, so profound\u2026you have turned into a beautiful storyteller with your heart open. Who cares about lifts?\u201d<\/p>\nThis week, Inaba was more of a stickler to the rules when it came to Whitney Leavitt<\/a> and her pro partner Mark Ballas<\/a>, taking a point off of their Viennese waltz for a \u201chop\u201d or two.<\/p>\n\u201cThat was\u2026my absolute favorite [of yours],\u201d Inaba told Leavitt after her performance. \u201cIt felt so authentically you. You unmasked. You showed us, truly, your soul and how much you love to dance. I just want to thank you for that. There was a bit of a \u2018hop\u2019 so I had to mark for that, but what you did, please, no one can take that away from you. That was outstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Derek Hough<\/a> questioned his fellow judge, Inaba noted that she actually saw two hops. At the end of the night, Leavitt was eliminated<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Whitney](\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/whitney-leavitt-eliminated-dancing-with-the-stars-855x570.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDisney\/Eric McCandless<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Chiles maintains that there\u2019s nothing wrong with Inaba\u2019s ruling. \u201cI have been in a world where you constantly get judged,\u201d Chiles said. \u201cI am a gymnast and I understand what\u2019s like to be in the spotlight. Yes, they are going to judge [the dances] the way they see them. You can only go out there and do what you do. Is everything going to be perfect? No. We\u2019re on a TV show, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJudging is judging,\u201d Chiles continued. \u201cThe judges are human beings and they have their own opinions the same way that everyone else does. The judges are amazing. I don\u2019t think people should go and bash them for anything. It\u2019s not right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s not said enough is that dance is extremely subjective,\u201d Sosa added. \u201cEveryone\u2019s going to have a different opinion on every single dance. That\u2019s what makes the show polarizing, but also so captivating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe judges have the hardest job,\u201d said Bersten. \u201cThey don\u2019t have a lot of time, they\u2019re trying to help us so they\u2019re giving notes, and they have to give a score that people might not always agree with. We need them to do our jobs. We need the judges.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hendrix was touched when Inaba came out from behind the desk to embrace her in celebration of her paso doble. \u201cThat was everything,\u201d Hendrix said with a smile. \u201cI\u2019ve been a Carrie Ann Inaba fan long before this show, before she was a Fly Girl [on In Living Color], so to have that acknowledgement from her just hit me really deep in my core. I just appreciate her so much. She didn\u2019t need to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Hendrix and Bersten, the cherry on top was being announced as the first couple to make the finale, although the results are read in no particular order. \u201cIf they were going to do that at any time this season, I\u2019m glad it was for the finale,\u201d Bersten admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m on cloud nine,\u201d added Hendrix, who said with a smile, \u201cThey put us out of our misery very quickly!\u201d<\/p>\n
Of the five pros going to the finals, Sosa is the only one who hasn\u2019t won the coveted Len Goodman Memorial Mirrorball trophy. His first season was last year with Anna Delvey, \u00a0and the two were voted off in the second week of the competition. This year, he\u2019s going to the finals with Chiles.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Ezra] has so much talent,\u201d Chiles shared. \u201cThe first thing I said to him was that I want this to be somewhere where you can shine. You deserve to,\u00a0 just like every other pro. You deserve to be in spotlight. I told him to push me as best he could. It\u2019s really cool that I get to be on this journey with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finding out he was advancing over three-time mirror ball champion Mark Ballas was an out-of-body experience for the sophomore pro.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have so much respect for Mark,\u201d Sousa said. \u201cI\u2019ve grown up watching him, idolizing him, hoping that I could someday have something even close to the impact that he\u2019s had on the show. Seeing him and Whitney go was heartbreaking. Whitney was so incredible. Mark is a legend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of his own partner, he added, \u201cThis girl, right here? She\u2019s everything to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dancing With the Stars, Season 34 Finale, Tuesday, November 25, 8\/7c, ABC<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
- \n
- Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba came under fire for docking points from some contestants for lifts, but not others.<\/li>\n
- After the 2025 Semifinals, some of the finalists and their pro partners reacted to the backlash in exclusive interviews with TV Insider.<\/li>\n
- Elaine Hendrix, Alan Bersten, Jordan Chiles, and Ezra Sosa defended Inaba from the critics.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n
Actress Elaine Hendrix<\/a> and gold medal-winning Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles<\/a> were the first and last celebrities, respectively, to learn that they are going to the Finals<\/a> next week on Dancing With the Stars<\/a> during the November 18 episode.<\/p>\n
After the show, TV Insider spoke to them, and their respective pro partners, Alan Bersten<\/a> and Ezra Sosa<\/a>, on the ballroom floor about their reactions to learning they were advancing, and on the heavy criticism the judges have been facing this season. Carrie Ann Inaba<\/a>, especially, has come under fire<\/a> for perceived inconsistencies.<\/p>\n
Last week, Inaba told finalist Robert Irwin<\/a>, \u201cI know we all saw that foot come off the ground but I have to say that sometimes\u2026there are moments that make us change the way we do things. This dance was so powerful, so profound\u2026you have turned into a beautiful storyteller with your heart open. Who cares about lifts?\u201d<\/p>\n
This week, Inaba was more of a stickler to the rules when it came to Whitney Leavitt<\/a> and her pro partner Mark Ballas<\/a>, taking a point off of their Viennese waltz for a \u201chop\u201d or two.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was\u2026my absolute favorite [of yours],\u201d Inaba told Leavitt after her performance. \u201cIt felt so authentically you. You unmasked. You showed us, truly, your soul and how much you love to dance. I just want to thank you for that. There was a bit of a \u2018hop\u2019 so I had to mark for that, but what you did, please, no one can take that away from you. That was outstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Derek Hough<\/a> questioned his fellow judge, Inaba noted that she actually saw two hops. At the end of the night, Leavitt was eliminated<\/a>.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nDisney\/Eric McCandless<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Chiles maintains that there\u2019s nothing wrong with Inaba\u2019s ruling. \u201cI have been in a world where you constantly get judged,\u201d Chiles said. \u201cI am a gymnast and I understand what\u2019s like to be in the spotlight. Yes, they are going to judge [the dances] the way they see them. You can only go out there and do what you do. Is everything going to be perfect? No. We\u2019re on a TV show, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJudging is judging,\u201d Chiles continued. \u201cThe judges are human beings and they have their own opinions the same way that everyone else does. The judges are amazing. I don\u2019t think people should go and bash them for anything. It\u2019s not right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s not said enough is that dance is extremely subjective,\u201d Sosa added. \u201cEveryone\u2019s going to have a different opinion on every single dance. That\u2019s what makes the show polarizing, but also so captivating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe judges have the hardest job,\u201d said Bersten. \u201cThey don\u2019t have a lot of time, they\u2019re trying to help us so they\u2019re giving notes, and they have to give a score that people might not always agree with. We need them to do our jobs. We need the judges.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hendrix was touched when Inaba came out from behind the desk to embrace her in celebration of her paso doble. \u201cThat was everything,\u201d Hendrix said with a smile. \u201cI\u2019ve been a Carrie Ann Inaba fan long before this show, before she was a Fly Girl [on In Living Color], so to have that acknowledgement from her just hit me really deep in my core. I just appreciate her so much. She didn\u2019t need to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Hendrix and Bersten, the cherry on top was being announced as the first couple to make the finale, although the results are read in no particular order. \u201cIf they were going to do that at any time this season, I\u2019m glad it was for the finale,\u201d Bersten admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m on cloud nine,\u201d added Hendrix, who said with a smile, \u201cThey put us out of our misery very quickly!\u201d<\/p>\n
Of the five pros going to the finals, Sosa is the only one who hasn\u2019t won the coveted Len Goodman Memorial Mirrorball trophy. His first season was last year with Anna Delvey, \u00a0and the two were voted off in the second week of the competition. This year, he\u2019s going to the finals with Chiles.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Ezra] has so much talent,\u201d Chiles shared. \u201cThe first thing I said to him was that I want this to be somewhere where you can shine. You deserve to,\u00a0 just like every other pro. You deserve to be in spotlight. I told him to push me as best he could. It\u2019s really cool that I get to be on this journey with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finding out he was advancing over three-time mirror ball champion Mark Ballas was an out-of-body experience for the sophomore pro.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have so much respect for Mark,\u201d Sousa said. \u201cI\u2019ve grown up watching him, idolizing him, hoping that I could someday have something even close to the impact that he\u2019s had on the show. Seeing him and Whitney go was heartbreaking. Whitney was so incredible. Mark is a legend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of his own partner, he added, \u201cThis girl, right here? She\u2019s everything to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dancing With the Stars, Season 34 Finale, Tuesday, November 25, 8\/7c, ABC<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n