Dance Mogul Magazine · DWTS Season 35 · Judging Watch
Carrie Ann Inaba Addresses DWTS Favoritism Claims as Witney Carson Pushes Back on Guillermo Critique
The debate around Guillermo Rodriguez’s Mariah Carey Night samba has become a larger Season 35 question about judging, characterization and what a score can — and cannot — prove.
October 9, 2026 · Dance Mogul Magazine
One of the most debated judging moments of Dancing with the Stars Season 35 has developed into two separate arguments: whether Witney Carson and Guillermo Rodriguez were being judged fairly for the performance they intended to give, and whether disagreement with a score is evidence that the panel favors someone else.
Those questions are connected, but they are not the same.
Rodriguez and Carson scored 13 out of 30 for their October 6 samba to Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed.” Carrie Ann Inaba questioned why Rodriguez appeared to be holding back the joy and personality that had helped make him an audience favorite. The studio crowd responded with audible boos.
Carson then supplied a piece of information viewers did not have when the critique was delivered: the more serious expression was part of the performance choice.
Witney Carson Says Guillermo Was Playing the Character
Speaking with TV Insider after Mariah Carey Night, Carson explained that Rodriguez’s expression was tied to the character they were building around the song. She described the music and attitude as more diva-driven and said she did not believe Rodriguez had lost the personality or light that audiences associate with him.
Carson characterized Inaba’s comment as “out of pocket”.
That response does not automatically invalidate a judge’s score. It does, however, change the question. If the facial expression and attitude were intentional, then the discussion should separate characterization from the technical content of the samba.
DMM Dance Lens
A performance choice and a technical mistake are not the same thing. A dancer can intentionally play a serious, dramatic or restrained character while still being responsible for timing, samba action, weight transfer, rhythm and clarity of movement. If the issue is technique, the useful critique is to identify the technique. If the issue is characterization, the audience also needs to know whether that characterization was a deliberate choreographic choice.
Carrie Ann Inaba Responds to Favoritism Claims
The controversy widened after the episode. Inaba responded on October 8 to social-media discussion around Rodriguez, scoring and the intensity of the Season 35 fandom.
Her central point was straightforward: a lower score for one contestant does not establish that another contestant is a judge’s favorite. She also argued that viewers can sometimes interpret criticism of a performance as a personal attack on the celebrity they support.
That distinction matters because DWTS is not decided by judges’ scores alone. The live result combines judges’ marks with viewer voting. Individual public-vote totals are not released, so the public record cannot tell us exactly how large Rodriguez’s audience advantage is or whether another couple received more or fewer viewer votes.
DMM Accuracy Note
DMM has found no public evidence establishing favoritism by the Season 35 judging panel. The observable record is that Rodriguez has repeatedly received low judges’ totals and has repeatedly survived through the combined scoring-and-voting system. Because individual viewer-vote totals are not published, DMM will not turn that gap into an unsupported claim about who is receiving how many votes.
Why Guillermo Rodriguez Has Become a Season 35 Test Case
Rodriguez’s score history makes him one of the most revealing contestants in the competition. He opened the season at 10/30, then moved to 12/30 and 15/30 before falling back to 13/30 on Mariah Carey Night.
That produces two records at the same time. The judges’ record says he remains behind the stronger technicians. The elimination record says enough combined support has existed to keep him in the ballroom.
Neither record cancels the other.
For a dance publication, the more useful question is whether the continued weeks produce measurable change. Carson has already spoken earlier in the season about Rodriguez becoming more committed to rehearsal after surviving his 10/30 premiere. The next stage is not simply whether audiences continue voting for him; it is whether the additional rehearsal time becomes visible in the dance.
Super Bowl Night Gives the Debate an Immediate Follow-Up
Rodriguez and Carson return October 13 with a salsa to Bad Bunny’s “Tití Me Preguntó” on the first DWTS Super Bowl Night.
That assignment is useful because salsa again puts rhythm, weight changes, timing and performance character in the foreground. Instead of debating one Mariah Carey Night expression indefinitely, Week 5 gives the partnership another live test.
DMM will be watching for three things: whether the characterization reads clearly without obscuring the dance, whether the technical baseline improves, and whether the judges explain those distinctions precisely enough for viewers to understand what their scores are measuring.
Official Video
Watch Mariah Carey Night on ABC
The official episode contains the Rodriguez/Carson samba, the judges’ comments and the live audience reaction.
Watch on ABC →Sources
- TV Insider, Oct. 7, 2026 — direct post-show interview with Witney Carson.
- Us Weekly, Oct. 9, 2026 — Carrie Ann Inaba’s response to favoritism criticism.
- ABC — official Season 35 Mariah Carey Night episode.
- ABC/Disney Television Press, Oct. 8, 2026 — official Super Bowl Night assignment for Rodriguez and Carson.
Continue DMM’s Season 35 Coverage