‘DWTS’: Jenna and Carrie Ann’s Off-Camera Hug Shows Their True Feelings for One Another
On Dancing With the Stars, Jenna Johnson embraced Carrie Ann Inaba following the controversy with Val Chmerkovskiy. After Inaba gave Johnson a harsh critique, Chmerkovskiy referenced Will Smith’s Oscars slap in a since-deleted post. As a result, he received a one-week suspension. Johnson and Inaba recently showed how they feel.
Jenna Johnson’s husband received a suspension over a post about Carrie Ann Inaba
In a critique, Inaba told Johnson’s partner, Harry Shum Jr., that he needed to “put more content” into his dances. Johnson and Inaba then seemingly disagreed on the definition of a lift. Chmerkovskiy later referenced the infamous moment when Smith slapped Chris Rock in a post defending his wife.
“You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” he wrote.
The post sparked outrage, prompting Chmerkovskiy to apologize. He also received a one-week suspension.
Jenna and Carrie Ann embraced on ‘DWTS’
During the recent live show, Johnson and Inaba embraced in an off-camera moment. Body language expert Inbaal Honigman with Casino.org said that this was a genuine moment between the two women.
“There are a few nonverbal cues which suggest that Jenna and Carrie Ann’s hug is warm and genuine, not just a fake show of unity for the cameras,” she said. “First and foremost, their hands tell a whole story. Both ladies place their hands, open and curved, on each other’s backs. If they didn’t want the hug to be warm and genuine, their hands would have been flat, tense, and cold.”
She noted that their hands showed a distinct lack of tension.
“Open hands are a mark of sharing and vulnerability, and the fact that the hands are lightly curved reveals that they’re not tense,” she said. “Their muscles rest in a natural curve, no tension, showing that this hug is totally natural and spontaneous. Placing their hands on each other’s backs literally says ‘I’ve got your back’; it is a mark of support and trust.”
Honigman also said that Johnson and Inaba had multiple points of contact. They likely would have avoided so much contact if they disliked one another. The two women also made direct eye contact.
“They then look each other in the eye, another sign of honesty and trust, and then they embrace again,” she said. “There are no hard feelings — both girls understand that TV is just TV, and they each have a role to play in the production, but when they meet off-stage as two women, and the cameras have stopped rolling, they’re united.”
If anything, Honigman believes that Johnson wanted to show deference to Inaba.
“Jenna lowers her body initially to hug Carrie Ann, as if she is bowing to the judge. This shows that Jenna approaches Carrie Ann from a submissive state, as if approaching a sovereign.”
She added that Jenna seems to have a great deal of respect for Inaba.
“When Carrie Ann then stands to her feet, Jenna’s stance changes — into a curtsy!” she said. “This looks like a gesture of reverence, as Jenna bends her knees while slightly lowering her body. This stance is also one that would be associated with meeting a monarch. Jenna may view Carrie Ann as the queen of the show.”
