While many “Dancing With the Stars” contestants seemed to receive a “treat” from Carrie Ann Inaba during this week’s “Halloween Nightmares” episode, others felt “tricked” by her harsh scoring.
Page Six exclusively spoke to the cast about the longtime judge “throwing out 10s like candy” to every couple in the ballroom Tuesday night — except for Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong and Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten.
“She said, ‘Candy apple for you!’” Kinney jokingly said in response, bursting into laughter, as Armstrong chimed in with, “We didn’t get it. Our bag is a little light.”
The “Pretty Little Liars” alum, 24, and her pro partner, 30, received a “9” from Inaba for their Viennese waltz to “Secret” by Denmark + Winter. Meanwhile, fellow judges Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli each gave them a “10,” taking their combined total to an almost perfect score of 29/30.
Despite placing at the top of the leaderboard, the dance duo still felt slightly bummed about not getting a “10” from Inaba — as that’s the score she gave almost every other couple Tuesday night. Armstrong compared the experience to how he felt trick-or-treating as a kid.
“I don’t know about y’all, but I didn’t grow up with money, so we would go to a rich neighborhood to trick-or-treat,” explained Armstrong, who was born and raised in San Francisco before moving to Utah to begin his dance training.
“You’d go up to the house and some people would [give out] like two-liter sodas and king-sized [candy bars]. Then you’d go to the one house and you get like a little nugget Reese’s, you know? So I think that’s kind of how I feel. I feel like my bag was just a bit little lighter than it should be.”
Armstrong clarified, however, that “all jokes aside,” he and Kinney “one thousand percent” respect “all of the judges’ opinions” and critical feedback.
“There’s obviously something that we are lacking that we can do better at. We are going to find it. We’re trying to find it,” he continued. “I think that’s where we want the feedback. We want people to tell us how to get better. We have nothing against progression; in fact, we search for it.”
Kinney agreed, telling Page Six that she “openly” welcomes the criticism in hopes of getting one step closer to securing the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
“I think my frustration came a little bit with, like, the clarity, or lack thereof,” the actress admitted. “I just want to know exactly what to do in the rehearsal room so I can grow and improve … so I just want to know what it is that [Carrie Ann] is looking for.”
As for Maher and Bersten, the two received “8s” across the board — a total score of 24/30 — for their tango to Miley Cyrus’ version of “Psycho Killer.”
“Every single person got a ’10,’ but us,” Bersten, 30, said in his post-show interview with Page Six, making light of their lower scores. “Hey, you know what we got that no one else got? Eights! Nobody else touched an ‘8’ today.”
Maher, 28, also jokingly reacted to their placement at the bottom of the leaderboard, proclaiming, “The bottomest couple!”
Still, Bersten felt his dance partner “truly did a great job” during the live show.
“Ilona is growing so much,” he said of the American rugby union player. “And I do know the judges mentioned that [she’s] improved so much. It was just a hard night. Everyone’s so good. And again, we’re just so grateful that we’re still here.”
Fans on social media also weighed in on the Halloween-themed episode, with many taking to X to specifically address Inaba’s scoring.
“Carrie Ann did NOT give Chandler a 10 but all the other judges did. Make it make sense,” one viewer stated, with another adding, “Thinking about how Ilona is sitting there watching Carrie Ann give out automatic 10s to everyone and she got 8s.”
A third viewer wrote, “Hands up if you think Carrie Ann needs to get a grip on her scoring.”
“I have beef with carrie ann inaba,” joked a fourth.
Due to Election Day on Nov. 5, the remaining Season 33 contestants will have a week off from the live dance competition series and rehearsals. When asked how they’ll be spending their well-deserved break?
“Still stressing about this show,” joked Kinney, with Armstrong noting, “A lot of choreographing. Probably more than if we had rehearsal.”
Maher added, “I’m going to New York for a little bit, but I’ll be back in the studio working.”