DWTS Pro Louis van Amstel Calls for Clearer Lift Rules After Carrie Ann Inaba's Critique
Yahoo • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Louis van Amstel, original DWTS pro, supports Carrie Ann Inaba's critique of a lift performed by Jenna Johnson and Harry Shum Jr., stating the ballroom rules are unclear about lifts involving backup dancers.
- Van Amstel suggests updating the DWTS rulebook to explicitly prohibit lifts performed by any dancers other than the main couple to avoid confusion and ensure consistency.
- He points out inconsistency in enforcement, noting a similar lift by Val Chmerkovskiy with Jenna Dewan went unpenalized, highlighting a need for uniform application of the rules.
- Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Jenna Johnson's brother-in-law, also calls for clarity, emphasizing that traditional ballroom rules apply only to the dancing couple, not backup dancers, and criticizes the creative direction for causing confusion.
- The controversy began when Carrie Ann Inaba called out a lift during the samba routine, leading to backlash from Val Chmerkovskiy, who apologized after posting a controversial TikTok comment and was suspended for the following week.
