“Dancing With the Stars” has dazzled fans with dynamic dances since 2005. But the celebrity ballroom competition is not just about sequins, spray tans, and salsas.
DWTS fans get an inside look at sometimes unexpected partnerships as novice dancers learn ballroom routines from experienced pro dancers.
With more than 500 episodes under its belt by the end of 2024, “Dancing With the Stars” has featured 51 professional dancers, 394 celebrity contestants, and thousands of dances, according to Variety. Thirty-three winners (and counting) have taken home mirror ball trophies in the Emmy-winning competition show.
But it’s not all a blaze of glory. With so many episodes, “Dancing With the Stars” has also experienced some major fails.
11. Master P Replaces His Son
Heavy/GettyIn season 2, rapper Master P was brought in as a last-minute replacement for his son, Romeo, who suffered an injury and had to drop out. Not only did Papa P slack off on rehearsals, but his paso doble with pro Ashly Delgrosso scored a measly 8 out of 30 points, per Entertainment Weekly. Yes, two of the judges gave him twos!
10. Maksim Chmerkovskiy Lashes Out at Len Goodman
Getty ImagesIn season 13, Maksim Chmerkovskiy dared to talk back to head judge Len Goodman. After Goodman called Chmerkovskiy’s dance with Hope Solo their “worst dance of the season,” Chmerkovskiy shocked everyone when he fired back at the highly respected ballroom legend and suggested it was time for him to retire after decades in the business. “Maybe it’s time to go!” Chmerkovksiy told Goodman, per People magazine.
9. Ryan Lochte Gets Hit With Protest
GettyRyan Lochte joined the cast in 2016 after sparking controversy for fabricating a robbery story while at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. During season 23, two male protestors wearing anti-Lochte shirts rushed the stage following the swimmer’s premiere night dance with Cheryl Burke. As security swooped in to boot the men from the ballroom, pro dancer Derek Hough yelled at their companions to “get out” too.
8. Michael Bolton Gets Sent to the Doghouse
GettyIn season 11, Michael Bolton was in the doghouse with the judges. After he crawled out of an actual doghouse for a “Hound Dog” jive with Chelsie Hightower, the singer was panned by the judges. “I don’t think the world is ready for your interpretation of the jive …. it probably needed a pooper scooper at the end,” cracked Len Goodman, per Us Weekly. Bruno Tonioli added, “You should take the bone and go back into the doghouse. This is the worst jive in 11 seasons!”
7. Kate Gosselin Sends Her Partner to Therapy
GettyOne of the worst partnerships came in season 10, when reality TV mom Kate Gosselin was paired with Tony Dovolani. The two did not get along, and Gosselin didn’t pick up many dance steps, either.
According to Today.com, Dovolani was later asked about the experience in an interview on Anderson Cooper’s now-defunct talk show. “I always felt bad for you because you got stuck with Kate Gosselin. I remember watching her dance. I’m still traumatized by that experience, Cooper said to the pro dancer
“Wait, wait. Anderson, did you just call it a dance? We didn’t dance,” Dovolani cracked, before adding that there “was a lot of therapy involved” after he worked with the polarizing reality star.
6. Anna Delvey’s ‘Nothing’
GettySpeaking of polarizing contestants, fans just didn’t connect with Anna Delvey in season 33. Convicted of defrauding businesses in 2019 while pretending to be a German heiress (per CNN), Delvey wore a GPS monitor on her ankle during her short run in the ballroom. Many fans were outraged by her casting on the show, and her exit remark didn’t help matters. After Delvey’s elimination was announced in week 2, co-host Julianne Hough asked her what she would take from her experience on the show. The convicted felon simply replied, “Nothing.”
5. Bobby Bones’ Win
GettyIn 2018, Bobby Bones’ season 27 mirror ball win with Sharna Burgess came with controversy. Many fans felt frontrunner Milo Manheim was robbed of the trophy. Years later, Bones’ win—which came thanks to viewer votes—is still one of the most talked-about “Dancing With the Stars” moments of all time. Bones went on record as saying knows he wasn’t the best dancer during his season. “I was the worst dancer,” Bones wrote on Instagram in August 2024. “I take pride in that. Now, I tried as hard as anybody in the history of the show, but I can’t dance now, couldn’t dance then. But you know who took down the big evil empire of dance? Well, it’s not evil or an empire — but me and you! We did it together.”
4. The Judges Save
GettyBobby Bones’ win was so controversial that producers felt they had to come up with a way for it to never happen again. Enter the Judges’ Save, a short-lived power that allowed the judges to decide which couple in the bottom two or three would be sent home.
The Save lasted for four seasons before it was yanked in season 32 to give the power back to the viewers. “I think it should be about America,” producer Deena Katz told TV Line in February 2024. “And at the end of the day, the judges’ save sometimes isn’t what America wanted. And [eliminations are based on] half the judges and half America voting, and so that’s kind of the reason we did it.”
3. Gene Simmons as Guest Judge
GettyGuest judges have appeared on “Dancing With the Stars” for years, but in season 33 casting misfired when they brought on rock star Gene Simmons. The KISS bassist doled out unauthorized 10s and called the pretty female dancers “hot.”
Following his controversial stint on the show, Simmons addressed the backlash. “I stand by every word I said,” he told The Daily Mail. “I had a great time. The contestants were great. The show was great. Watch the show. It was a lot of fun.”
2. The Sean Spicer Controversy
GettyIn season 28, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was announced as a contestant, much to the outrage of then-DWTS host Tom Bergeron. According to Us Weekly, Bergeron claimed on social media that he had lunch with producers and suggested that it would be “a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY political affiliations.”
“I left that lunch convinced we were in agreement,” Bergeron wrote in a now-deleted Twitter post. Bergeron later explained his Twitter rant in an interview on Cheryl Burke’s “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast he called the move to cast Spicer a “betrayal” and “a step too far.” Of his decision to post a rant about Spicer’s casting without informing ABC executives, Bergeron said, “They didn’t deserve to know. They had screwed me. I’m gonna screw them.”
1. Tom Bergeron & Erin Andrews Are Replaced With Tyra Banks
GettyTom Bergeron figured his days were numbered on “Dancing With the Stars,” but his axing came with a plus one: Cohost Erin Andrews was also let go in July 2020. Bergeron announced on Twitter, telling fans he was “informed” that “Dancing With the Stars” would be continuing without him.
The replacement for him and Andrews was Tyra Banks, but fans never fully embraced the supermodel in the role. Viewers called her for multiple mistakes during the live show, including a blunder when announcing the bottom contestants per the Los Angeles Times. Others were put off by her many costume changes. In 2023, Banks announced her exit from the show after three rough seasons.
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11 DWTS Hiccups Fans Remember & Appreciate Over the Years