'Dancing With the Stars': Kaitlyn Bristowe Reacts to Carrie Ann Inaba Saying She 'Gave Up' (Exclusive)

The former 'Bachelorette' is still fully committed to the competition.

Kaitlyn Bristowe is still 100 percent committed to Dancing With the Stars. The former Bachelorette is used to receiving glowing feedback from the judges on the dancing competition show, but this week, Carrie Ann Inaba felt she "gave up."

"What's so hard is, you are a good dancer, and I saw you trying really hard tonight. The things that didn't go well for you was the lift, number one. Number two, you are not resisting enough," Carrie Ann said. "I think it's because of your flexibility, sometimes you don't hold your shape strong because the elbows give out so work on that."

"Also, it felt like at moments you gave up. You had a moment of chaos there and I saw it in your eyes, and I felt like your spirit dropped," she added. "I don't want to discourage you because I do think you are a fantastic dancer but this was another not-great dance of yours and I apologize."

Kaitlyn and her partner, Artem Chigvintsev, earned a score of 24/30 for their Cruella de Vil-inspired Paso Doble, their lowest score since week 3 of the competition. 

As Kaitlyn told ET after Monday's show, both she and Artem felt confused by Carrie Ann's remarks, and disagreed with her assessment of their performance.

"It's not in my character to give up," Kaitlyn shared. "If anything, I might get tired at one point, but I'm pushing through as hard as I possibly can. I would never give up."

"A few things hurt my feelings, but I have to remember, 'OK, I'm on a show where there's judges, and I have to take everything they say and I can't change it,'" she added.

Kaitlyn added that she felt particularly bad for her partner for not getting the respect he deserves for his beautiful choreography.

"You put in so much hard work and you come up with such incredible choreography that you work so hard on," she shared. "So to get a 7, it's just hard."

When asked what she would want to tell Carrie Ann, in response to her feedback, Kaitlyn joked, "I would like to say, 'Carrie Ann, LensCrafters called and your prescription is in.'"

Appearing on Dancing With the Stars has been a big dream of Bristowe's for years. She was originally supposed to compete after her 2015 season of The Bachelorette. 

For Artem, his main focus is focusing on Kaitlyn's DWTS journey and serving as her guide along the way, instead of worrying too much about the judging.

"The thing is, I'm not the person who's like, 'I've got to go in and impress the judges.' No. This is not my motto ever," Artem shared. "My motto is, 'Let's make you the best you can be at this dance, and let's take that to the next level every day and try to be better.'... It's about doing the best dance she can do, because it's her journey."

Kaitlyn and Artem are hoping to get their groove back next week. 

"Next week we're doing a jive," Artem hinted. "And it's definitely a different [kind of] dance... it's a happy dance and has a totally different vibe to it."

Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

RELATED CONTENT:

Latest News