'DWTS' Judges Go Head-to-Head Over Whitney Leavitt's Cha-Cha: 'Carrie Ann, You Are Out of Your Mind!’

The tension is palpable as Dancing With the Stars Season 34 nears its semifinals, with contestants vying for their spot in the finale.

In the November 18 episode, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt and her pro partner Mark Ballas kicked off the festivities with a vibrant cha-cha to Prince's iconic "1999." The routine quickly sparked intense discussions among the judges.

Bruno Tonioli applauded the performance, saying, "Everything that you wanted from a cha-cha was there. The execution, the precision, the placement, the level of difficulty - incredible, and you did it."

Carrie Ann Inaba chimed in with her praise for Leavitt’s dance, calling it "wonderful," but she had her reservations, igniting a lively exchange with fellow judge Derek Hough.

"I’m gonna say this is what stood out to me," Inaba noted. "At times I felt that the technique, I could see you focusing on the technique, and normally that doesn’t happen when you perform. It almost kind of hindered it because you're such an amazing performer."

Inaba explained that technique should "disappear into a great dance," but with Leavitt's cha-cha, "I could see you focusing on the technique, but it was still well delivered."

Hough wasn't having it. With a playful smirk, he defended Leavitt's technique, exclaiming, "Carrie Ann, you are out of your mind!" His comment drew laughter from Inaba, who couldn’t help but rock back in her seat.

"That was literal perfection," Hough continued. "By the way, cha-cha in a semi-final is really risky, honestly... It got better and better and better, the precision, the technique, the performance. That was awesome."

Leavitt and Ballas ended the night on a high note, scoring an impressive 29 with a 10 from Hough, a 10 from Tonioli, and a 9 from Inaba. This made it the highest score of the evening until Robert Irwin and his partner, Witney Carson, later earned a perfect 30.

In the skybox, cohost Julianne Hough addressed the hot topic, asking Leavitt about a comment suggesting her motivation for joining The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was solely to get on DWTS. Leavitt clarified that after two seasons on the viral sensation, she "wanted to take a break, but once I found out that this would be an opportunity for all of the girls to be able to go after this, I wanted to take that chance."

Whitney expressed her gratitude to longtime DWTS producer Deena Katz for the opportunity, declaring that the experience has already "changed my life."

Sadly, the star ended up getting eliminated.