Instagram/@alix_earle
Alix Earle teamed up with her professional partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, and they delivered a very touching contemporary dance performance set to the song ‘Farewell’ during ‘Dedication Night’ for ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ which actually was the tribute to Earle’s little sister, Izabel. Many viewers gave positive remarks to this performance, which was the highlight of the evening, but judges’ scores, particularly that of Carrie Ann Inaba, have created a great controversy on the internet.
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The official ‘Dancing with the Stars’ acccount shares this joyful moment and writes, ‘Protect them at all costs 💕😭 Alix and Val’s Contemporary featuring her little sister Izabel was the perfect ending to #DedicationNight.’ It seems that the whole experience of performing with a loved one had a profound impact on the audience, and one user, who claimed to be a big sister to a very little sibling, wrote, ‘As a big sis to a half sibling 11 years younger, thank you 🤍.’ Another user very briefly said, ‘Alix AND her sister danced beautifully @valentin is a amazing teacher. For me this was 10s across.’
However, the positive feelings soon turned into negative ones as the criticism directed to judge Carrie Ann Inaba came in full force. The main complaint of many comments was the users’ discontent with her scoring system, especially, that she gave Alix Earle and fellow contestant Robert Irwin lower scores than she did to some other dancers who, according to the viewers, had made obvious mistakes. One user expressed it very well when he commented, ‘Carrie Ann……… Whitney was a whole second off on her jump. Be for real, needed all 9s for Alix. Every body around was like +1.’ Consequently, the comment section became a unanimous agreement, with many even stating that ‘Robert and Alix were robbed of straight 9’s.’
The discontent was so intense that it led to many calls for Inaba’s removal from the judging panel. One user quite explicitly stated, ‘The only person who should be voted off is Carrie Ann,’ which was the same sentiment that others voiced in various ways. Another person put forward, ‘Petition for kym to replace carrie ann,’ which was met with great support. The comment thread for that proposal turned into an ‘exploded’ one with responses like ‘This!!!!’ and ‘the feedback she gave was so goooood and actually useful! I was in awe of her.’ The praise for guest judge Kym Herjavec was a constant subject with one blogger writing, ‘From a previous dancer: Kym’s excellent and useful critique is the breath of fresh air that we all—dancers and viewers—need.’
The situation became even more heated when Inaba was somewhat the target of the subtle jibe from Derek Hough, her colleague. ‘lowkey love derek calling out carrie ann’ was the comment that went viral in the thread. The original poster provided clarifications in the replies that Hough had commented on the ‘negativity’ in the show just after Inaba had spoken, thus many took it as a direct call-out. This received a lot of support, as one reply said, ‘THANK YOU DEREK FOR CALLING CARRIE ANN OUT.’
A number of comments took a more personal approach accusing Inaba of favoritism. One that garnered a lot of likes said simply, ‘Carrie Ann is jealous of beautiful women.’ The replies to this were rather straightforward with one user saying, ‘and she hates Robert too…. She seems bitter to all except for Whitney and Dylan.’ A different user asked, ‘Okay but how does Carrie Ann give Alix the lowest score EVERY TIME,’ with another answer being, ‘she’s such a major hater it’s insufferable, Alix is soooo good and gets better every week and Carrie Ann STILL can’t give her the credit.’
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The digital interaction to one episode of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ has revealed how deeply, almost crazily, the audience feels for the participants and how every move of the judges is scrutinized. Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy’s performance was meant to be a loving tribute but paradoxically became the reason for an extensive discussion on the topics of justice and favoritism in this long-running show. The public’s clear appreciation of the dance was entirely overshadowed by a collective demand for the judges to be accountable, which suggests that sometimes the most unforgettable performances are marked by the controversies they generate outside the dance floor. Alix Earle has also been known for her stylish tributes to pop icons. Her journey on the show began with an emotional post before her debut. More recently, she and Val delivered a viral quickstep on TikTok Night.
