Maksim Chmerkovskiy tells “DWTS” judge Carrie Ann Inaba to ‘get some consistency’ after criticism of sister-in-law Jenna Johnson

Key Points:

• Maksim Chmerkovskiy defended his sister-in-law Jenna Johnson against Carrie Ann Inaba's criticism on Dancing With the Stars (DWTS), disputing Inaba's claim that Johnson performed a prohibited lift during her samba with Harry Shum Jr.
• Inaba argued that a lift occurred because Shum was assisted in a backflip by troupe members, which is against samba rules, but Chmerkovskiy contended that the lift rule only applies to partner-to-partner lifts, not troupe-assisted moves.
• Chmerkovskiy criticized Inaba for inconsistency in her judging and suggested that if lifts by troupe members are allowed, they should not be penalized, emphasizing that the routine lacked authentic samba content rather than illegal lifts.
• Jenna Johnson expressed confusion over the lift accusation, stating she was unaware of the troupe's involvement in lifting Shum, but respected Inaba's role as a judge and accepted the feedback.
• Despite the controversy, Johnson and Shum received an overall score of 33 out of 40 from the judges, and the debate highlighted ongoing tensions about rule interpretations on DWTS.