On Halloween night, “Dancing with the Stars” saw judges assessing celebrities who confronted their deepest fears through dance. Competitors on “Dancing with the Stars” delivered impressive dance routines, evaluated by the judges. However, one judge, Carrie Ann Inaba, faced fan backlash, with viewers accusing her of unfair scoring and showing favoritism.
Each routine performed by competitors on the show embodied a personal nightmare, with themes ranging from snakes, the boogeyman, and killers to eerie dolls, the dark, and vampires.Daniella Karagach and Dwight Howard delivered a chilling contemporary dance to “Ring Around the Rosie,” creating an eerie atmosphere that resonated with the Halloween theme. Their performance earned them their first ten of the season from Carrie.
Other tens followed, with Carrie awarding top scores to Danny Amendola and Witney Carson, Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber, Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson, and Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold. Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli mainly opted for 9s during the evening, with Bruno being the exception, as he awarded Joey and Jenna a perfect ten, which placed them at the top of the leaderboard.
Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong wrapped up the show with their performance, earning a 9 from Carrie while both Bruno and Derek gave them tens. Viewers voiced their frustrations over Carrie’s scoring, feeling she displayed favoritism by giving higher scores to others while ranking Chandler and Brandon lower.One viewer fumed, “Carrie Ann should have given Chandler a 10!! She sure has her favorites (Joey) and then expects others to be perfect or she knocks off a point. 
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Another frustrated fan echoed the sentiment, “Amazing Dance by Chandler! She should have gotten a total of 30, Carrie Ann is not being fair to her!” Others seemed equally disappointed, with one writing, “Amazing dance!! And Carrie Ann should be fired after this episode. Giving everyone but her a 10. I’m glad Derek & Bruno gave them 10s!”
Another fan voiced their suspicions, “Carey Ann picks her favorites. Dwight did not deserve a 10 or the 3 extra points.” Some viewers even noticed a trend in Carrie’s scoring, saying, “It’s so obvious by the way she underscores Chandler that Carrie Ann favors the male celebs! Such a sham! Chandler is the best dancer!”Another took the critique further, commenting, “Carrie Ann was insufferable tonight. Can we bring Mark back, please?”—a nod to Mark Ballas, a former contestant who guest-judged on a previous episode.
Some viewers held nothing back with their opinions. One fan shared their strong stance, “Like she NEEDS to go. I don’t care if she’s been there since day 1, they were fine with letting Tom go. She’s TERRIBLE.” This fan referenced Tom Bergeron who was fired from the show.Another upset viewer declared, “This might be the most egregious incorrect judgement [sic] I’ve ever seen her make. It’s insulting to Chandler and her talent at this point, who could have been scoring te
