Carrie Ann Inaba Medical Crisis: Did She Suffer A Stroke Like Sandra Lee?
DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba rushed to the hospital after a mid-flight scare starts fan comparisons to Sandra Lee.
Dancing with the Stars judge, Carrie Ann Inaba missed the premiere for the talent show on September 16 last year because of ill health. Since then, more news emerged, and that makes fans draw a comparison to Sandra Lee, AKA Dr. Pimple Popper. Read on for more details.
Carrie Goes To Hospital
This week, TMZ reported that Carrie Ann Inaba experienced “a medical emergency on a flight to New York.” Of course, she ended up being rushed to a hospital. The news that originated from Carrie, alarmed DWTS fans.
When they saw the Instagram post about it, some of them mentioned that Sandra Lee, famous for Dr. Pimple Popper, experienced a stroke. So, they wondered if that also happened to Carrie.
Well, when she fell ill in 2025, there wasn’t any mention of a stroke. So, per Deadline, it seemed she just had had a problem with her auto-immune or lupus issues. But this time, might that have happened like Dr. Pimple Popper.
Symptoms Described
Per the TMZ report on Friday:
Carrie says she was in the airplane lavatory when she “very suddenly felt quite ill.” She says she broke out in a cold sweat, became dizzy, and her arms went numb, which scared her.
Apparently, she got some reassurance from doctors on the flight, and at the hospital she ended up on an IV. Also, her sudden distress happened during a period of “turbulence” on the plane. Later, she felt well enough to return to her hotel. So, it doesn’t sound as if she had the stroke that fans feared happened.
Sandra’s Stroke Was Different?
In the case of Sandra Lee, who did suffer a stroke, People reported that ahead of the premiere of the new season of Dr. Pimple Popper, she mentioned some difficulty with speech. Additionally, she talked about, “a hot flash,” feeling “super sweaty” and “shooting pans” in one of her legs.
While there definitely seem to be similarities with numbness and sweaty feelings, it doesn’t seem as if Carrie Ann Inaba experienced the same thing. It took time for Sandra to return to work, but Carrie didn’t mention staying in medical care or needing to take time off work.
However, she is resting and apparently taking in more fluids via IV. So, Dancing with the Stars fans can hope that it wasn’t a stroke like Sandra Lee experienced.
Readers React
Apart from the commenter who wrote, “Cardiac events in 50 year olds are up. Dr Pimple Popper just recovered from a stroke,” there were other comments.
Here are some other responses from the discussion:
- Oh no!! I pray she’s okay, she is wonderful!
- I HOPE she’s okay.
- Why are all such young, active people getting so sick?
Well, that last comment about young people getting sick is certainly a compliment to Carrie Ann Inaba. Do you know that the DWTS judge is very nearly 60 years old? Born in 1968, in Honolulu, Hawaii, she celebrated her 58th birthday in January this year.
Hopefully, an update arrives that can put speculation about a possible stroke to bed. If that happens, we’ll be sure to update you, so remember to come back here often for all your celebrity news and updates.
