"Lowkey misogynistic": Dancing with the Stars fans react to Derek Hough opposing Carrie Ann Inaba's judgments in the semifinals

Dancing with the Stars season 34 saw a fierce rivalry not only among the contestants but also among the judges during the November 18, 2025, semi-finals, featuring Prince Night. 

Panelist Derek Hough opposed Carrie Ann Inaba’s judgments after she pointed out flaws in Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas’ performances. 

Whitney’s first act, which was a Cha Cha to 1999, was appreciated overall; however, Carrie Ann pointed out that Whitney lost her flow by focusing intently on executing the technique. Derek immediately jumped in to disagree, saying Carrie Ann was “out of her mind” to nitpick mistakes in the act. According to him, the act was flawless. 

He disagreed with Carrie Ann again when judging Whitney’s second act, which was a Viennese Waltz to Slow Love. 

Carrie Ann commended Whitney’s efforts, but mentioned that there was a “bit of a hop” in her act. Derek was quick to oppose her comment, wondering where the “hop” was. He went so far as to call her “crazy.”

To him, the act was well executed, as he commended Whitney for being brave and sharing her story through her performance.

Dancing with the Stars fans were not pleased with Derek’s treatment of Carrie Ann. They flocked to X to criticize him for opposing Carrie Ann on live television. 

“Derek is being lowkey misogynistic to Carrie Ann and it’s pissing me off STOP FEEDING INTO THE HATE ON TIKTOK BE A PROFESSIONAL!! He wants to be the tiktok fan favorite and get clipped so bad,” a netizen commented. 

Dancing with the Stars viewers disapproved of Derek’s opinions, as many felt Carrie Ann was not wrong in her judgments. 

“umm Derek sorry Carrie Anne isn’t trying to win some odd judge’s popularity contest??? Don’t shush the woman OKAYYYYY,” a fan wrote. 

“Derek is going to make me become a Carrie Ann apologist there was a hop my guy and you know why you didn’t see it? BECAUSE YOU WERE LOOKING DOWN AND NOT WATCHING THE DANCE,” another one commented.

“Did anyone else find it super disappointing and unprofessional the way Derek spoke to Carrie Ann tonight? I understand she can be inconsistent and judges disagree all the time. However, calling her crazy and out of her mind was uncalled for,” an X user reacted.

Other fans of the show expressed a similar sentiment. 

“Derek is so cringe he just knows he’ll be cheered if he disagrees with CIA even tho she’s pointing out the mistakes …but not giving the right scores with them,” a person wrote. 

“derek needs to stop looking at carrie ann crazy when she makes valid critiques. he wants to pander to the uninformed new viewers so bad it’s embarrassing you will never be len blondie,” another one commented.

“derek needs to stop disagreeing with cai on air. there’s sometimes a funny way to do it but he always does it so awkwardly and rudely it’s honestly unprofessional,” a fan posted. 

Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba speaks out about online criticism over her scoring

Derek’s opposition was not the first time Carrie Ann faced resistance over her judgment or scoring. She has consistently been the target of online criticism, as fans of the show have accused her of underscoring contestants and making unfair judgments. 

In a November 11 interview with Variety, Carrie Ann opened up about the impact of such backlash, saying:

“It does hurt. Sometimes the things they say are cruel, and that has affected me. It’s made me scared. It’s not so much that I get hurt as I get afraid, because it feels like they’re like attacking me verbally, so I shrink down a little during the season, especially after week five or six.”

That said, she pointed out that if she had the platform to openly express her opinions on the performances, she should allow the “same grace to everyone else” as well. 

However, she admitted that the negativity affected her mental health, causing her to seek therapy. 

Regardless, she believed staying true to herself was what she did best. Consequently, she refused to change herself to please others. 

Despite Derek’s defense of Whitney’s performances, Prince Night saw her and her pro dance partner, Mark Ballas, get eliminated from the show. 

Stay tuned for more updates.