Dancing with the Stars pro partner Karina Smirnoff apparently has mixed emotions about Julianne Hough signing on as a regular nineteenth-season judge when her brother Derek Hough is in the competition.

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"I think she is a great girl, I've known her for many years," Karina, 36, told Us Weekly. "I think that she is wonderful, gorgeous, and talented, but I don't know if it's ethical that she is judging while her brother is competing."

Julianne, 26, will be sitting on Dancing with the Stars' judging panel alongside mainstay judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, who are all returning for the next edition. 

"I may be the most fair person in the world, but if my mom is dancing and she trips, I would be like, 'Well, I didn't see that...'" explained Karina, who will be competing against Derek as well as 11 other pro dancers.

"That is my mother, and I will go stand by her side and support her regardless. Do I think it's fair? No. But it is a TV show. That is what we have to remember. It's not necessarily the Bible, it's just a TV show."

Karina will be paired with mixed martial arts and UFC fighter Randy Couture next season. She will be competing in her sixteenth edition. Karina won Dancing with the Stars' thirteenth edition with J.R. Martinez and finished the show's last eighteenth edition in eleventh place.

Derek, 29, will be participating in his fourteenth Dancing with the Stars season. The show's only five-time professional champion will be paired with YouTube fashionista Bethany Mota. Most recently, Derek won the show's sixteenth and seventeenth seasons with partners Kellie Pickler and Amber Riley respectively. He also finished as the runner-up with Amy Purdy last season.

Julianne is a two-time Dancing with the Stars champion who left the reality dancing competition before its ninth season premiered for other career ventures. She's since released a country music album and starred in Footloose and Safe Haven among other movies.

Julianne never returned as a pro although she's performed on the show to promote her movies and had served as a guest judge once during each of the last two seasons. 

Dancing with the Stars' nineteenth season will premiere with a live two-hour broadcast on Monday, September 15 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC. One couple will be eliminated during the first one-hour live results show on Tuesday, September 16 at 8PM ET/PT.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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