Carrie Ann Inaba Booed For Criticism Of Joey Graziadei’s “Underwhelming” Freestyle On ‘DWTS’

The Bachelor alum Joey Graziadei and pro Jenna Johnson were crowned the winners of Dancing with the Stars Season 33 last night — no thanks to judge Carrie Ann Inaba. 

Graziadei performed a finale freestyle inspired by his tennis player past to “Canned Heat” by District 78 featuring Jake Simpson. The routine was complete with flips, tricks and light-up tennis racket choreography, yet to Inaba, the routine still seemed “underwhelming.”

“I was expecting something, and a freestyle can make or break somebody,” she protested as the audience loudly booed her. The judge claimed that although he was “amazing,” she believed the energy dipped in the middle of the dance. Yet, she understood the backlash to her remarks, telling fans, “Please boo me.” 

Fellow judge Derek Hough appeared wide-eyed and shocked as Inaba delivered her comments.  “How dare you, Carrie Ann?” he began his feedback, then raved about the routine.

Graziadei and Johnson kept it cool and absorbed Inaba’s critique. They wound up scoring a 29 out of 30 for their freestyle: Nine from Inaba, 10 from Hough, and 10 from Bruno Tonioli.

Their fellow cast members, however, were not as reserved with their reactions. Val Chmerkovskiy—Johnson’s husband and the reigning champion—took a stand on social media, posting on his Instagram Story, “Whaaat did you say his racket swing needed to be tighter? What!? 10 weeks of busting your ass for that?! Unbelieveable [sic].”

DWTS alum Maks Chmerkovskiy also shared his strong opinions in defense of Graziadei and Johnson, his sister in law. Backstage, the former pro expressed that he was feeling “shock[ed]” and “perplexed” about Inaba’s comments. “It doesn’t make any sense to me. What did you do? You made a moment that Joey clearly earned and deserved with Jenna, who put in so much effort into that choreography, and you kind of messed with it,” he asserted.

Graziadei’s fiancée, Kelsey Anderson, flashed the camera a thumbs down and booed Inaba’s assessment as well. The Bachelor star has been outspoken about her support for Graziadei throughout the entire season. “Every Tuesday right after his performance, Joey texts me, saying, ‘I hope I made you proud,’ which of course he does—but honestly, he makes me proud every single day,” Anderson shared on TikTok on Monday. “It’s not just about his accomplishments; it’s the way he treats others and the unwavering commitment he brings to everything he does.”

Fans were not happy with Inaba’s critique either, some even going so far as to call for her to be replaced as a judge next season. “After hating on my boy joey you need to be gone next season,” one user wrote on Instagram, while another challenged her, “let’s see your tennis racket swing.”

Drama aside, Graziadei and Johnson appeared in good spirits as they accepted the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy in a tight race against runner-up Ilona Maher. Chandler Kinney came in third, followed by Stephen Nedoroscik and Danny Amendola.