Maks Chmerkovskiy doesn’t understand Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s criticism of his sister-in-law, Jenna Johnson, amid their tension-filled lift back-and-forth.
“She goes and starts reading off the rulebook, but then that same rulebook that’s applicable in ballroom with lifts is only applicable to a couple dancing,” Chmerkovskiy, 46, said on the Thursday, October 15, episode of the “Viall Files” podcast. “You’re not talking about extra background dancers running out.”
Johnson, 32, and celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr. performed a high-energy samba on Tuesday, September 13’s Super Bowl Night, for which Inaba, 58, docked points over an illegal lift. (While dancers aren’t allowed to take both feet off the ground in a traditional samba, two troupe dancers helped Shum, 44, do a backflip mid-routine.)
“There’s no ‘three other people’ in the rulebook. The point is: Carrie Ann, get some consistency,” Chmerkovskiy quipped. “A lift is a lift if a partner lifted his partner. … If you’re going to have [the] troupe run out and throw someone in the air, that’s not a lift. That’s Dancing With the Stars creative direction, and you should complain to the creative director.”
Chmerkovskiy’s wife, Peta Murgatroyd, also agreed with her spouse. (Maks’ brother, Val Chmerkovskiy has been married to Johnson since 2019.)
“When I heard what she said about no one could lift the person, I agreed with Jenna in the fact, like, ‘Oh, so even if it’s not me, he can’t be lifted either,’” Murgatroyd, 40, said on Thursday’s episode. “I think maybe that would have been confusing for me too.”
After Inaba’s critique, Johnson succinctly asked whether the move was in fact a lift. Maks, for his part, felt his sister-in-law’s comment was one of a “consummate professional.” Even so, Maks agreed with Inaba about the lack of samba skills displayed in the routine.
“[She felt the] samba content wasn’t enough, and I agree,” he stated. “They gave too much of a nod to [Usher’s type] of movement and the movement quality, which is Harry’s card. … But samba didn’t play out, and I think that’s where Carrie Ann should have ended. To give it a lift situation, come on? Then, give him a 7, take the points [or] something. Why did you bring this up if you’re not going to do anything about it? That’s my problem.”
Johnson has since spoken with Inaba, clarifying that she respects the judges’ feedback.
“I hear Carrie Ann. She’s a judge for a reason,” Johnson told Extra after Tuesday’s episode. “She’s gonna do her job, I’m gonna do mine. I’m gonna take the feedback.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
