Fishel Says Male DWTS Contestants Get Easier Judging
Former Dancing With the Stars contestant Danielle Fishel says female competitors face harsher judging than men on the ABC show.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Dance
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Danielle Fishel, who competed on Season 34 of Dancing With the Stars, suggested male contestants receive more lenient judging than female contestants. She discussed the issue during an October 28 episode of her podcast's Ballroom Breakdown series.
Why it matters
Fishel's remarks add to ongoing discussion about how judges evaluate performers on the long-running ABC competition. The episode also highlights audience reaction to how judges deliver constructive criticism.
Shirley Ballas scored Tyler Cameron's Viennese waltz a 5, while Julia Stiles and Tatyana Ali each received a 4 on October 27. The extraction does not show how these scores compare with the judges' average across the full season.
The players
Danielle Fishel
Fishel is an actress and podcaster who competed on Season 34 of Dancing With the Stars and hosts the Ballroom Breakdown series.
Carrie Ann Inaba
Inaba is a longtime judge on Dancing With the Stars known for her critiques of contestants' technique and choreography.
Shirley Ballas
Ballas is a former professional ballroom dancer and judge who served as a guest judge on the October 27 episode.
Val Chmerkovskiy
Chmerkovskiy is a professional dancer on Dancing With the Stars who publicly defended Jenna Johnson and received a one-week suspension from the competition.
The details
Fishel said she believes judges tend to be harder on women than on male celebrities. Separately, Carrie Ann Inaba criticized Jenna Johnson and Harry Shum Jr. for an alleged illegal lift during their October 13 samba and suggested the show consider a new lift rule. Val Chmerkovskiy publicly defended Johnson on social media and received a one-week suspension from the competition.
Timeline
October 13: Johnson and Shum Jr. perform the samba with an alleged illegal lift.
October 27: Horror Movie Night episode features guest judge Shirley Ballas.
October 28: Fishel discusses the judging double standard on her podcast.
Industry Dynamics
Fishel's remarks fit a longer pattern of audience scrutiny aimed at judges on reality competition shows, where critiques of performers often draw strong reactions. The extraction notes that Inaba and guest judges receive more backlash than male judges Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough when giving constructive criticism.
Viewers who follow Dancing With the Stars can judge for themselves how scoring and critiques play out in upcoming episodes. The debate may shape how audiences weigh judges' comments on future performances.
The takeaway
Viewers evaluating reality competition scores may find it useful to consider both the judges' stated criteria and whether critiques are applied consistently across contestants.
Further reading
For more on the show's judging controversies, see Dance coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by EntertainmentNow.
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