‘DWTS’ judge Carrie Ann Inaba criticizes pro Jenna Johnson in tense exchange during live show

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Todisco, E. (2026, October 14). ‘DWTS’ judge Carrie Ann Inaba criticizes pro Jenna Johnson in tense exchange during live show. New York Post. https://pagesix.com/2026/10/14/entertainment/dwts-judge-carrie-ann-inaba-pro-jenna-johnson-have-tense-exchange/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-14 · by Eric Todisco

Quick Summary

During a live episode of "Dancing with the Stars," judge Carrie Ann Inaba criticized pro dancer Jenna Johnson and her partner Harry Shum Jr., suggesting their samba lacked sufficient content and included a lift. The exchange became tense when Johnson appeared surprised by the mention of the lift, though she later acknowledged Inaba’s feedback as constructive. Despite the criticism, Johnson received praise from other judges and scored well for her performance.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-14, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On 2026-10-14, during a live episode of "Dancing with the Stars" themed around "Super Bowl Night," judge Carrie Ann Inaba criticized pro dancer Jenna Johnson for performing a lift, which is forbidden in the show's rules. After Johnson and her partner Harry Shum Jr. performed the samba to Usher's song "Yeah!," Inaba pointed out that there was a prohibited lift during their dance. A surprised Johnson questioned this, but Inaba clarified from a prepared note that a lift involves both feet being off the floor simultaneously with support from a partner. The exchange became tense as Johnson shook her head and the audience fell silent. Despite the initial disagreement, Inaba later said she would meet Johnson where she is, suggesting an attempt to mend the tension.

Written for “Dwts Judge Criticizes Pro Dancer” on 2026-10-14, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 79296 · logged 2026-10-14

Story

📰 Dwts Judge Criticizes Pro Dancer
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-14 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 10091 article(s) · 30 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 30 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Eric Todisco
63 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 During Stiles’ epic solo part of the dance, Thomas, 55, could be seen in the background over Sosa’s shoulder, holding his jacket just like his character, Derek, does in the movie.
🔮 Inaba added, “I will meet you where you are.”
🔮 “She warned us about eating healthy and what would happen if we didn’t,” says Collin, one of Kate’s eight children she shares with ex Jon Gosselin.
🔮 We will remember you with love ❤️,” Chen-Moonves added.
🔮 “Breaking Bad” alum RJ Mitte declared that he would stay true to himself when he got older in one of his final interviews before he died by suicide at age 34.
🔮 “I guess you could say that about any business,” the “Wall Street” actor continued.
🔮 “They can and should accept the consequences of their actions, and lean into the countless and willfully gross behavior before it leans into them.
🔮 Sajak also joked that in Hitchcock’s honor, he “had planned to get a large Air Supply logo tattoo on my chest,” but changed his mind cause he “thought it might detract from my nipple ring.”
🔮 However, Harry said he eventually realized that his mom would want him to be happy, which was “a huge mental shift” for him.
🔮 “I actually slipped into depression for about two weeks and I felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline,” he added.
Also by Eric Todisco
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 63 articles by Eric Todisco →

Topics

Super Bowl Halftime Show Super Bowl Night Usher

Subjects

Inaba PERSON · 10× Johnson PERSON · 8× Shum Jr. PERSON · 4× Rodriguez PERSON · 3× Carrie Ann PERSON · 2× Usher PERSON · 2× Carrie Ann Inaba PERSON · 1× Derek Hough PERSON · 1× Harry Shum Jr. PERSON · 1× Jenna Johnson PERSON · 1×

Narrative

A surprised Johnson, 32, replied, “A lift?” “Yeah it was a lift,” Inaba responded, before reading from a piece of paper that “a lift is any movement during which one of the dancers has both feet off the floor at the same time with the assistance or support of their partner.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-14
🔮 Inaba added, “I will meet you where you are.”

Claims (28 extracted, 1 hedged)

“Dancing with the Stars” judge Carrie Ann Inaba and pro Jenna Johnson had a tense exchange over the latter’s choreography during Tuesday’s “Super Bowl Night.” asserted
Inaba → have → Night
After Johnson and her partner Harry Shum Jr. did the samba to “Yeah!” by Usher, Inaba explained that while she “loved every minute” of the performance, she told the “Glee” alum he needs to “put more content in [his] dances.” asserted
he → do → dances
“And there was a lift,” Inaba, 58, added. asserted
Inaba → be → ?
A surprised Johnson, 32, replied, “A lift?” “Yeah it was a lift,” Inaba responded, before reading from a piece of paper that “a lift is any movement during which one of the dancers has both feet off the floor at the same time with the assistance or support of their partner.” asserted
one → reply → partner
“Yeah, lift,” she reiterated to the duo. asserted
she → lift → duo
Johnson shook her head in response as the live audience suddenly got silent. asserted
audience → shake → response
“Dang,” said judge Derek Hough, who was next to give his take on the dance. asserted
who → say → dance
“I feel like I got told off.” asserted
I → feel → ?
Inaba added, “I will meet you where you are.” asserted
you → add → you
When Hough praised Johnson and Shum Jr., 44, for their “fantastic performance,” Inaba could be heard agreeing with him. uncertain
Inaba → praise → him
When Johnson and Shum Jr. went up to the skybox, co-host Julianne Hough asked the pro dancer how she felt about Inaba’s criticism. asserted
she → go → criticism
“I totally understand. asserted
I → understand → ?
I thought it was if you lifted your partner,” Johnson said, adding, “But I totally hear Carrie Ann. asserted
I → think → Ann
I will take it. asserted
I → take → it
Johnson and Shum Jr. were then scored a 33 out of 40 from the judges. asserted
Johnson → score → judges
“Oh my god, amazing,” Shum Jr. said in response. asserted
Jr. → say → response
“It’s a dream come true. asserted
It → ’ → ?
We got Usher, we got Super Bowl Halftime Show. asserted
we → get → Show
We did it!” asserted
We → do → it
Johnson told her partner, “I’m so proud of you.” Stay one step ahead with all the exclusive tea on your favorite reality TV stars! asserted
I → tell → stars
Earlier in the episode, Inaba had another tense exchange with Guillermo Rodriguez after he and Witney Carson danced a salsa to “Tití Me Preguntó” by Bad Bunny. asserted
he → have → Bunny
During their pre-performance package, Rodriguez, 55, told his pregnant partner that Inaba “was not too nice” when she gave him brutal feedback for his samba during “Mariah Carey Night” last week. asserted
she → tell → Night
“I was going to say, ‘Carrie Ann, Samba is hard. asserted
Samba → go → ?
It’s a lot of steps and everything,’” he continued. asserted
he → ’ → steps
“Maybe she had a bad day.” asserted
she → have → day
After his salsa, Inaba told Rodriguez, “Guillermo, did you just call me out? asserted
you → tell → me
If you’re gonna call me out, you better bring the goods. asserted
you → go → goods
“I did,” Rodriguez replied, as Inaba praised the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” comedian for bringing “the joy back” in his “hardest routine” yet. asserted
Inaba → do → routine
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