Dancing With the Stars pro Jenna Johnson is weighing in after Carrie Ann Inaba called her out for a lift during Super Bowl Night.
“You know what, it’s hard, because usually when someone’s called out for a lift, it’s when your partner lifts you,” Johnson, 32, told Extra after performing a samba with Harry Shum Jr. on Tuesday, October 13. “So I was definitely unaware of, like, two guys that weren’t myself rolling back Harry and lifting him. But I absolutely hear Carrie Ann.”
Johnson added, “She’s a judge for a reason. She’s gonna do her job, I’m gonna do mine. I’m gonna take the feedback.”
Now in her 10th year as a pro, Johnson emphasized that she “would never do something intentionally” in her choreography that “would break the rules.”
“I like to take risks, but I also love rules,” she quipped. “And I said that to her afterwards; I went up to her … so I hear and respect the judges, absolutely.”
Johnson and Shum, 44, wowed the audience on Tuesday night with their samba to Usher‘s “Yeah!” featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. The pair earned 33 out of 40 points from the judges — including special guest Joe Buck — but Inaba’s feedback raised eyebrows.
“If that was a halftime show — amazing, I loved every minute of it,” she said. “But it’s a samba. … And I think you need to put more content in your dances. Especially because [Harry’s] so good, I want to see you challenge yourself a little bit more in the vein of what we’re looking for. And there was a lift.”
Johnson was shocked by Inaba’s final comment, asking, “A lift?”
The longtime judge wasted no time pulling out receipts, providing an exact definition of what qualifies as a lift.
“A lift is — I just need to say it — any movement during which one of the dancers has both feet off the floor at the same time with the assistance or support of their partner,” she said, reading from a paper on the judges’ table. “Yeah. Lift.”
An awkward hush fell over the ballroom before fellow judge Derek Hough quipped, “Dang, I feel like I got told off.”
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When cohost Julianne Hough asked Johnson for her immediate reaction after the tense exchange, the dancer kept it professional.
“I totally understand,” Johnson said. “I thought it was if you lifted your partner, but totally hear Carrie Ann. I will take it.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.