DWTS’ Carrie Ann Inaba Apologizes to Danielle Fishel for Body Comment

Warning: This story contains spoilers for the Nov. 4 episode of Dancing With the Stars.

Carrie Ann Inaba didn’t mean to upset a contestant.

A judge on Dancing With the Stars has apologized to Danielle Fishel for a remark about her body size made on Halloween. The comment came while praising Fishel and her partner, Pasha Pashkov, after their performance on the show’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame night.

Before entering the ballroom on November 4th, Danielle revealed that comments from Carrie about her October 28th performance on the ABC competition show had bothered her. Carrie had told her, “You need to move around more on the dance floor because you’re small.”

In a candid moment, the former Boy Meets World star shared that while she may be small in stature, she feels strong and capable within herself, and wants to express that inner strength more often.

I absolutely love how honest Danielle is! She admitted it’s going to be a real challenge to push her dancing to the next level, and she joked that it doesn’t exactly come easy to a 5-foot-1 girl like her to really throw herself around! It’s so relatable and shows how much effort she’s willing to put in.

Fortunately, Pasha had also been thinking along the same lines. He shared that he’d actually created a contemporary dance routine to Aerosmith’s “Dream On” with this very idea in mind.

According to the dance professional, Carrie Ann Inaba believes the dancer needs to use more of the stage, and contemporary dance is the ideal style to help her do that.

In the end, Pasha was correct. Carrie realized she should have chosen different words shortly after their performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which the judges scored a 34.

She told Danielle she was sorry if anything she’d said had hurt her feelings, explaining that wasn’t her intention at all. She went on to say Danielle might be small, but she’s strong and capable, and that’s why she felt comfortable saying it – she has faith in Danielle.

After receiving the apology, Danielle quickly reassured her that she wasn’t upset by the comment, simply stating, “I wasn’t offended at all.”

I was so impressed with the dance! I really loved that they chose contemporary – it’s a style that lets you truly feel the emotion and connect with the story, and they absolutely nailed it. They weren’t just dancing steps, they were telling a story, and it was beautiful.

She shivered and continued, “There’s a certain magic in the air, a feeling we all recognize, that pulls you away from the present moment. Thank you for creating that atmosphere – it was beautifully done.”

I was absolutely gutted when Danielle and Pasha were eliminated at the end of the show. Despite their best efforts, the votes just weren’t there to keep them in, and it was so disappointing to see them go.

Keep reading for more on season 34’s cast of Dancing With the Stars.