Dancing With the Stars Season 35 pro Witney Carson responded to Carrie Ann Inaba‘s comments about Guillermo Rodriguez‘s performance on Mariah Carey Night.
Guillermo and Witney danced to “Obsessed,” but Carrie Ann was left wondering what had happened to Jimmy Kimmel’s sidekick.
“What was going on?” Inaba asked. “No, I’m serious. Where’s all your joy? That special thing that you bring every time. I felt like you were dimming your light a little bit in this dance.”
While the audience disagreed, Carrie Ann continued, “I want to tell you because I don’t ever want you to dim your light because you’re special and you have a natural gift that we need. I want it more. Don’t ever not smile in a dance. I need your light. We all do!”
Ultimately, the pair earned 13 points out of 30, which was the lowest score of the night. Despite their low scores, fan votes kept them safe from elimination.
In an interview with TV Insider, Witney called Carrie Ann’s comments “out of pocket.”
“No matter what Guillermo does, his light will always shine,” Carson added. “No matter if he’s pretending to be a diva or he’s pretending to be Rihanna or he’s got a smile on his face.”
“There’s no swaying that. I think, obviously, America can tell, and that’s why we’re still here.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
