Carrie Ann Inaba isn't dancing away from the criticism that has been thrown her way. The Dancing With the Stars judge has responded to viewers' claims that she dishes out harsher critiques to the female contestants on the show. And according to her, it's not necessarily a bad thing. "I think that it is partly true," Carrie Ann told Variety in an interview published on November 11. "As the woman on the panel, I understand what it is to be a woman, so I can get into more detail about what I'm seeing."
The 57-year-old emphasized that her tough feedback isn't meant to upset the contestants but instead to encourage them to reach their full potential. "Because I support women so much, I let them know what I see because they are working so hard," she explained. "I always feel it’s my responsibility if I sense somebody hasn't given it their all because I don’t want them to walk away with regret."
However, that doesn't mean Carrie Ann, who is joined by Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough on the judging panel, believes she always gives the correct advice. "None of us are ever 100 percent right. But I’m willing to risk that and speak to them so that they have the opportunity to grow," she shared. "And when I speak woman to woman, I’m maybe a bit more frank. Maybe because I feel like women are tougher than men in some ways."
Despite being booed by audience members in several episodes over her scoring decisions, Carrie Ann isn't taking the backlash with a grain of salt. In fact, she admitted that there are times when the negative comments take a toll on her mental health. "Sometimes the things they say are cruel, and that has affected me," Carrie Ann shared. "It’s made me scared. It’s not so much that I get hurt as I get afraid, because it feels like they’re attacking me verbally, so I shrink down a little during the season."
Luckily, the TV personality—who has been on the show since its 2005 debut—has learned ways to tune out the noise. "When you’re true to yourself," she noted, "it doesn’t matter as much what everybody else is saying about you."
