The Carrie Ann Inaba hate started in earnest back in season 5 of Dancing With the Stars , when she called out pro Tony Dovolani for performing an illegal lift during his Viennese waltz routine with Jane Seymour. Tony’s response? He presented Carrie Ann with a ballroom rule book the following night.

“Because she does not know anything about ballroom, I figured she should at least read the rule book,” Tony told People at the time. “I highlighted the parts I wanted her to read, including the description of what a lift is.”

He claimed that Carrie Ann “laughed about it and gave me the finger,” but regardless of how she reacted, a dangerous precedent was set. From then on, pros, participants, and viewers alike seemingly decided that Carrie Ann Inaba was not deserving of respect.

It’s true that—unlike Len Goodman and Derek Hough—Carrie Ann does not have a competitive ballroom pedigree…but neither does Bruno Tonioli.…