Dylan Efron is standing up for Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba following her tense on-air exchange with professional dancer Jenna Johnson, saying the judge was simply doing what she was hired to do.
Efron, who finished fourth alongside professional partner Daniella Karagach in Season 34, shared his thoughts during an interview with Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea while promoting his partnership with Oroweat.
“Look, I think Carrie Ann was doing her job,” he said. “If they were all just saying how amazing everyone does each week, we would hate them for it. They’re up there to judge.”
The 34-year-old also argued that each member of the judging panel brings a different perspective to the competition, making their individual critiques an important part of the show.
Efron Explains Why Inaba’s Criticism Matters
To make his point, Efron compared the judges’ roles with the more hard-edged approach associated with Simon Cowell, who became known for his blunt comments during his time on American Idol.
He explained that each DWTS judge has a particular area of expertise. Bruno Tonioli, he said, loves the performance aspect, while Derek Hough focuses heavily on technique.
Inaba, meanwhile, is especially attentive to the emotional impact of a dance.
“I think when you talk about emotion, she either will hit it right on the head, and she’s voicing something that we all felt that is like, ‘Oh, my gosh, she just put that into words,’ and then sometimes it misses,” Efron explained.
“But I think when you’re critiquing emotion, it’s hard. It’s brave of her to do that.”
His comments came after Inaba criticised Johnson for incorporating what she described as an illegal lift into her samba with actor Harry Shum Jr. during the October 13 episode.
Inaba and Johnson’s Exchange Sparks Further Controversy
The disagreement reportedly left Johnson emotional backstage, with reports claiming that she broke down after the exchange.
The situation escalated the following day when Johnson’s husband, fellow professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy, posted a now-deleted TikTok message referencing Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap.
“You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” he wrote.
Although Chmerkovskiy later apologised for the controversial remark, he was handed a one-week suspension from the ballroom.
His absence meant that his celebrity partner, actress Jenna Dewan, had to perform during the show’s “Dedication Night” with professional dancer Alan Bersten instead.
Chmerkovskiy Returns and Makes Amends
Chmerkovskiy returned to Dancing With the Stars on Tuesday for “Horror Movie Night.” During the episode, he apologised to Dewan for the disruption caused by the suspension and the surrounding controversy.
He and Inaba were also spotted embracing during a commercial break, suggesting that the tension between them had eased.
Inaba separately addressed her relationship with Johnson in an Instagram comment, saying the two had made amends following “Super Bowl Night.” She also proposed introducing a new rule governing lifts in future seasons.
Meanwhile, Johnson and Shum Jr. had reason to celebrate on Tuesday. Their contemporary routine to 2Wei’s version of “Toxic” earned the first perfect score of the season.
A Former Contestant Offers His Perspective
Efron’s defence of Inaba carries particular interest because he experienced the competition firsthand. His fourth-place finish in Season 34 gave him an opportunity to see how demanding the judging process can be for contestants.
Rather than viewing criticism as something that should be avoided, he suggested that honest feedback is essential to the show’s format. For him, Inaba’s willingness to judge the emotional side of a performance is part of what makes her contribution distinctive.
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.