Insider Worried Bruno Tonioli May Be Out at DWTS

Longtime “Dancing With the Stars” insider Kristyn Burtt admitted that she’s worried about Bruno Tonioli’s future on the show. The comment came on the November 22 episode of the “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast. Burtt and podcast host Cheryl Burke were talking about the judges’ panel and how things would shake out if, say, Mark Ballas was brought on.

The consensus was that the panel will be unbalanced with three male judges (Tonioli, Ballas, and Derek Hough) and only one female (Carrie Ann Inaba). Moreover, if Inaba was replaced, it would leave a male-only panel.

“They can’t have all men, and that’s why I worry,” Burtt said on the podcast. “Budgets are getting smaller. An easy way to cut a budget is to cut a long term judge who’s probably making well over a million dollars,” she added.

Burke doesn’t necessarily agree. She believes that Tonioli and Inaba are a “package deal.” That means that either they’d both stay — or they’d both go.

DWTS Fans Have Been Critical of the Judging on Season 33

It’s entirely possible that there’ll be a shake-up on the judges’ panel. That seemed to become more likely given that fans loved when Ballas stopped by to guest judge.

While most fans aren’t calling for any of the judges to be replaced, there has been quite a bit of chatter about the inconsistent judging this season.

“I think I would prefer judging similar to American Idol where they only offer critique and not scores. Just leave it up to the people cause this scoring is just pissing people off,” one person commented on a Reddit thread about season 33’s judging.

“CAI especially has lost all credibility with me this season. The judging has been ludacris this season,” someone else said.

“If they’re going to change how they score based on what style of dance it is, then they should have EVERYBODY dance the same style in each episode. The scores affect who stays and who goes so it needs to be kept fair across the board,” a third comment read.

Conrad Green Defended the DWTS Judges

Inaba has been getting some push back from fans on season 33 due to her critiques and her scoring. DWTS executive producer Conrad Green spoke to Variety and defended Inaba — and the judges in general.

“Judging isn’t as easy as it appears. The most important stabilizer is the viewer’s vote. Voting will save you every day of the week. Voting isn’t just about popularity, it’s deliberate. The audience’s involvement is a necessary adjustment to it just being a judges’ score show. It also means the audience at home can address things, like someone having more dance experience or reward someone who’s learning from zero,” Green told the outlet.

Both Inaba and Tonioli have been judges on the show since it premiered in 2005.