DWTS' Pasha Pashkov Calls Out Carrie Ann Inaba’s "Unfair" Criticism

Pasha Pashkov is meeting his critics head-on.
The Dancing With the Stars pro—who's partnered with Boy Meets World alum Danielle Fishel on the ABC competition's 34th season—said he was "not happy" to hear judge Carrie Ann Inaba's criticism of their routine during Oct. 14's Dedication Night episode.
"Some of your dances are starting to feel like I’m watching the same dance over and over again,” Carrie Ann told the duo, whose jive number paid tribute to Danielle's former costar William Daniels. “Try to give a little bit more variety as far as dynamics. This is also on you, Pasha."
Well, Pasha thinks that comment was "unfair."
"Especially being that she said that the dances looked similar," he told Variety in an interview published Oct. 15. "The thing is, we did have a quickstep and we had a jive this week. These are two dances that [are] very, very similar."
The 39-year-old continued, “If we had dances that were drastically different and they felt the same, I’d understand. But, based on the dances that we had, that did not feel like it made sense to me. In my heart."
Pasha said he's especially "overprotective" of Danielle, 44, given how "hard" she's been working on her dancing skills.
He added of the actress, "I don’t think she deserved that comment."
Fortunately, no one was eliminated at the end of the night. As co-host Julianne Hough explained at the time, "We couldn't send anyone home tonight on such a special night. All of the scores and all of the votes from tonight will carry over to next week."
Danielle's fellow celeb competitor Elaine Hendrix was especially happy, given that she and pro partner Alan Bersten only received a score of 29 out of 40 for their foxtrot.
"It means everything to me," the Parent Trap star told the crowd. "This is a true second chance of my life and a dream come true and I'm beyond grateful."
And unlike the judges, Alan believes Elaine "absolutely crushed" her routine.
"I’m so proud of her," he told Variety. "It’s a tough competition, and I want her to know that she’s doing a good job."
Read on to get to know the DWTS season 34 cast.
Partnered with Britt Stewart
Partnered with Jan Ravnik
Partnered with Valentin Chmerkovski
Partnered with Daniella Karagach
Partnered with Jenna Johnson
Partnered with Alan Bersten
Partnered with Witney Carson
Partnered with Rylee Arnold
Partnered with Mark Ballas
Partnered with Gleb Savchenko
Partnered with Emma Slater
Partnered with Pasha Pashkov
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