Carrie Ann Inaba Writes On DWTS Season 23 Night One -What Happened Behind The Scenes And The Performances

Carrie Ann Inaba has written her first blog of Dancing With The Stars Season 23. She writes of what it was like in those moments LIVE on the show when the two protesters rushed the stage. She is proud of how the crew handled the situation and no one was hurt. She also writes on the performances. Below is more from She Knows.

I knew that no one else was seeing these men, but I realized that they were up to no good. Our team quickly handled them and removed them from the ballroom. I cannot say for sure, but I believe the “hecklers” were wearing jackets over their “Lochte” shirts until he performed. Luckily, they got no airtime and everyone was safe. After they were removed, I looked up and saw a few women with the same shirts on. Derek Hough also saw them and pointed them out to security during the commercial break, and we had them removed as well.

Our show has a first-class security team, and we are all family. We take care of each other. I am grateful for our team, and I’m grateful no one was hurt. I felt bad for Lochte in that moment because I realized the Rio Olympics incident will always follow him, but it’s important for everyone to know that it’s not the DWTS judges’ job to judge other people — but only to judge performances. Lochte is just another contestant on our show and will only be critiqued for his performances on the ballroom dance floor. I hope that there is some solace and safety in that for him, and that he will be comfortable enough to remain on the show. It’s my hope he will work hard like everyone else and stay focused on the task at hand, which is to learn how to dance.

Now, let’s go back to focusing on the premiere episode

DWTS is a show that encourages people to congregate, sit on the sofa with their friends and family and enjoy some good entertainment! The premiere was more than just the “Lochte Incident.” We had some stellar performances by James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess, Laurie Hernandez and Val Chmerkovskiy, and Terra Jole and Sasha Farber. BabyFace Edmonds and Allison Holker — along with Vanilla Ice and Whitney Carlson, Marilu Henner and Derek Hough — gave good showings and impressed us all as well. We also got to know a few new folks who still have lots of time to improve.

The premiere was more exciting than anyone could have imagined, and the shining stars at the end of the night, Val and Laurie, really helped to lift the mood in the ballroom after what was a really uncomfortable situation. I think DWTS has a responsibility to be entertaining and to be a place for positivity. There is enough going on in the world right now that makes the DWTS ballroom a sacred space — a place where we try to keep it heartwarming and fun, inspiring and entertaining.

To read Carrie Ann’s full blog, see She Knows.