Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson react to “DWTS” judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s claim his ‘joy’ is gone
Witney Carson and Guillermo Rodriguez on ‘DWTS’ week 4Credit: Disney/Eric McCandlessKey Points
Guillermo Rodriguez reacted to Carrie Ann Inaba’s surprising comments about his week 4 DWTS dance.
His pro partner, Witney Carson, told EW she “disagreed completely” with Inaba’s critique that his “joy” was missing.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live sidekick survived another week and will continue on in the competition.
Guillermo Rodriguez is plenty joyful, despite Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s surprising comments.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live sidekick and his pro partner, Witney Carson, danced a crowd-pleasing samba to “Obsessed” during week 4’s “Mariah Carey Night” on Tuesday, Oct. 6, but Inaba wasn’t too impressed.
While critiquing his 13 out of 30 performance, the judge asked Rodriguez, “What was going on? No, I’m serious. Where is all your joy? That special thing that you bring every time?”
She continued, “I felt like you were dimming your light a little bit in this dance.”
Audience members, children included, booed Inaba, who insisted, “Look, this is what I get paid for, people.”
She went on to explain that she doesn’t want the funnyman “to ever dim [his] light,” telling him, “You’re special, and you have a natural gift that we all need. Don’t ever not smile in a dance, I need your light. We all do.”
Entertainment Weekly caught up with Rodriguez and Carson after the show to discuss Inaba’s comments, which Carson said she “completely” disagreed with.
“You know what, samba is real hard. It’s a hard dance, it’s a lot of steps and everything,” Rodriguez told EW. “And it was hard for me this week—the dance. But, I did a good job, I did my best. You can ask Witney...”
“Listen, we were trying to get into the diva character, so maybe Carrie Ann thought it was a little bit of his light being dimmed. But I disagree, completely,” Carson stated, “and I think most of America would probably disagree with that, as well.”
Fellow judges Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, although critical of Rodriguez’s technique, still thought the dance was a good time. Hough called it “100 percent Guillermo” while Tonioli deemed him “a national obsession.”
Carson reiterated that seeing Rodriguez dive into the prima donna mentality was perhaps too jarring for Inaba.
“I think no matter what character Guillermo plays, he’s always going to have a light around him,” she explained. “I don’t think his light ever diminishes or fails if he’s a different character—it’s just a different side to him. It doesn’t mean that his light has dimmed at all.”
“That’s why she’s the best,” Rodriguez chimed in of his supportive teammate. “[Witney] is great. I would listen to her if she said, ‘We are going to do this, you’re going to take off your shirt, we’re going to do this, and that.’ I listen to her, whatever she says. ‘Oh yeah, sure.’ I do it.”
“Listen,” Carson joked, “Happy life, happy wife. Happy partner—it’s all the same thing.”
Carrie Ann Inaba on week 4 of ‘DWTS’Credit: Disney/Eric McCandless
Rodriguez and Carson have consistently been up for elimination, with Carson explaining in a TikTok last week that it doesn’t necessarily mean they have the least amount of votes.
“But it does mean that you don’t get to celebrate that you’re safe; you only get to hear who’s going home,” she explained, clapping back at the idea that she wants Rodriguez to be sent home because she’s pregnant.
“I am very happy that we’re continuing on. He really deserves [to be here],” she shared of her celebrity partner, who just survived another week after Ciara Miller was eliminated. “He’s genuinely a kind person, he genuinely wants to get better. He never gives up. Any time I’m resting in rehearsals, he’s practicing. Any time we’re at TVC [studios] and we’re just hanging out, he’s practicing. What you see on Tuesdays is his very best, and I think there’s a lot to say about someone who may not have the skills but is willing to learn and put in the work. That’s an amazing thing, and he deserves it.”
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Carson, who shares sons Leo, 5, and Jet, 3, with husband Carson McAllister, said that despite people being concerned about her health, she “feels really good” and is just “more tired than usual.” The pro insisted that she is resting when needed and following doctors’ orders.
“I know how far to push my body and the baby’s health has always been my number one priority,” Carson insisted. “I have no reserves when it comes to speaking up about physically overdoing it, which I do not feel that way at all, and the show is more than willing to help out in any capacity.”
Dancing With the Stars airs every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+, and streams the next day on Hulu.
Source: Entertainment