Dancing with the Stars is one of the most successful reality shows of all time, spanning a whopping 33 seasons. As such, the dancing extravaganza has managed to amass a dedicated fanbase throughout its run. Despite its ever-growing fandom, however, Dancing with the Stars always seems to attract allegations of the show being rigged. Such speculation grew tenfold after an irregular score was imposed upon a contesting pair in a recent episode. But is the beloved reality series actually staged?
Here are all the available details regarding the ongoing controversy about Dancing with the Stars being rigged.
Is Dancing with the Stars rigged and fake?
While rumors of the show being fake have always existed, they received further fuel after guest judge Gene Simmons fumbled up while scoring model Brooks Nader and her dance partner Gleb Savchenko.
The veteran musician seemed to be thoroughly impressed by the on-stage exploits of Nader and Savchenko. Simmons attempted to express his appreciation for the performance by bestowing the first 10 of the season upon the duo. While he held up a paddle of 10, it was later revealed that he had accidentally keyed in a score of 9 earlier. Dancing with the Stars co-host Julianne Hough soon confirmed that it was Simmons’ earlier score of 9 that would be counted, causing fans to revolt by labeling the show as rigged and fake.
Viewers expressed their concerns regarding the controversy by empathizing with the contestants. Many questioned the show’s decision to consider a lower score when Simmons clearly wanted to rate Nader’s performance with a perfect 10. The resulting backlash has led several devoted fans to term Dancing with the Stars as rigged and scripted.
Nevertheless, a certain faction of the fanbase has since come to the show’s rescue, as per Soaps.com. The said users have highlighted Dancing with the Stars’ format to refute the claims of the series being scripted. According to their arguments, DWTS always honors the scores that are submitted to the production. This practice intends to prevent the judges from changing their ratings after looking at their peers’ judgment. The fans also underlined the normalcy of the incident by recalling similar occurrences of the past.
Despite the controversy, contestants Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko seem to be completely unfazed. In a later interview, the pair stated that they plan to elevate their performances in an attempt to ‘triple’ their previous scores.
