Artem Chigvintsev expressed his displeasure with Carrie Ann Inaba’s low score during the latest episode of Dancing with the Stars in an interview with Entertainment Tonight . The popular pro echoed the sentiments of fans who believed that Carrie Ann was not fair to the returning dancer and his celebrity partner, Kaitlyn Bristowe .
Artem expressed his frustration regarding several comments made by Carrie Ann, where she claimed that the former Bachelor star “gave up” during her performance. Artem felt that Carrie Ann’s explanation was not enough of a reason for her to give the couple a total of 7 points out of 10. Judge Derek Hough awarded the couple an 8 and Bruno Tonioli, a 9.
Artem stated to Entertainment Tonight that he believed the couple’s Paso Doble — which was inspired by Cruella de Vil, the villain from the film 101 Dalmatians — was filled with advanced ballroom content.
“My thought, No. 1 is, does content of the dance not count anymore? Because it’s weird to me when we supposedly have to pursue a certain type of dance. I’m not going to speak of any specific couples, but I feel like, is there some kind of a standard now what dance should look like, or what it shouldn’t? I feel like it just kinda goes left and right. There’s definitely inconsistency,” he explained in the interview.
“It’s not enough explanation to give a low mark,” Artem added. He continued that a judge could say that the dance was not their favorite, and still appreciate that a couple had done a lot of work as they practiced the routine. He also believed that it could also be said that a couple had done a good dance because its content was on a high level even if the overall score was lower than they would have liked.
However, Artem shared that saying “I don’t feel it” was not a good enough critique. In fact, he felt that the dances were not about a judge’s feelings of connection. They should be scored on the skillset of the performance.
Carrie Ann said that although Kaitlyn was a good performer and she tried hard, there were a number of things that went wrong with the routine, including an incorrect lift and her difficulty in holding a shape.
Carrie Ann’s comments for Kaitlyn angered fans, who believed the judge was still bitter toward her ex, whom she dated for two and a half years, reported The Inquisitr . The two met while he was competing on the FOX reality show So You Think You Can Dance . Artem is currently engaged to Nikki Bella. They welcomed their first child together, a baby boy, on July 31.