Dancing With The Stars Fans Say Season 35 Is Rigged, and the Real Answer Is Simpler

Dancing With the Stars fans have a theory, and it is spreading fast.

The claim: ABC is protecting contestants connected to its own shows.

“I’m just gonna say, something weird is going on with ABC,” wrote Threads user kamrynmorey12 in a post that drew over 28,000 views. “Notice how all their precious stars from various ABC shows are still present.”

The Evidence Fans Are Citing

Harry has been heavily framed around Grey’s Anatomy, an ABC series, including being shown rehearsing on the Grey’s set. His time on Glee, a Fox show, has gone largely unmentioned.

Jackson is part of the Savannah Bananas. The Banana Bowl is streaming on Disney+ this month. The team earlier this year played at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. One commenter noted the DWTS troupe performed with the Bananas this week.

“I was like, oh, so Jackson is staying because it’s his birthday or because of his game being aired on Disney Plus?” wrote user essi_moni.

“They need to keep their corporate synergy gang till Disney Night,” wrote user 1lilspark.

And Here Is the Hole

Three commenters, in the same thread, independently pointed out the same problem.

“Hulu people were eliminated week 1,” wrote user bh_89. “Hulu is part of the Disney/ABC family.”

“Weren’t two people from hulu/freeform shows eliminated in week one though?” asked user jenniferrpierre.

“Really? Because I seem to remember that the first two people eliminated were connected to ABC shows, as well,” wrote user lizfetner.

Disney-family contestants have gone home. Some went first.

A theory built on the network protecting its own needs to explain that, and it does not.

What Is Definitely Real

Cross-promotion. Full stop.

Showing Harry rehearsing on the Grey’s Anatomy set promotes Grey’s Anatomy. Framing Jackson around the Bananas while the Banana Bowl streams on Disney+ promotes the Banana Bowl. The troupe performing with the Bananas promotes both.

Nobody at Disney would deny any of that. It is what owning a network, a streamer, a sports complex, and the show lets you do.

But promoting a contestant and controlling an elimination are different things, and only one of them is visible.

The Simpler Explanation

“Unfortunately, Jackson is just getting the fan votes despite his dancing ability,” wrote user caroline4ster.

“Athletes have always had significant fan votes on the show,” wrote user instajules28. “They often go far to the finals.”

That is just DWTS history. Athletes arrive with built-in fanbases that vote in volume regardless of technique.

Heavy promotion makes someone more visible. Visibility generates votes. Votes keep them safe.

Real effect. Works through the audience, not around it.

The Actual Problem

“We need the judge’s save back,” wrote user caroline4ster.

That is the fix.

With the judges’ save, the bottom two go to the panel, and the scores decide. Without it, votes alone determine everything, and the scores become commentary on a decision they do not influence.

One commenter identified an even sharper issue.

“The thing that I don’t get is why the voting is opened throughout the whole competition,” wrote user aleksandra_d99, comparing it to shows in her home country. “I’m used to the system of see all performances, open voting, fill 20 minutes while people are voting, close voting.”

Think about what open voting means. People can vote for a favorite before that favorite dances. The vote is not a reaction to a performance. It is loyalty cast in advance.

The Scoring Fight Is Separate

“Giving Julia 7s and Guillermo a 5 is not even the same universe,” wrote user thebarre_ista.

And one fan noticed something about the room.

“The fact that the pros rally around each other and the shock on the judges faces tells me it’s a producers issue,” wrote user mtbreford.

The judges have looked genuinely surprised at results more than once this season. That is not the face of someone who knows the ending.

Where It Lands

The frustration is legitimate. The explanation is not.

A company that owns the network, the streamer, the sports property, and the show has enormous tools for making certain contestants unavoidable, and visibility converts to votes.

And the current voting system lets those votes override professional judging entirely, with nothing to correct it.

Bring back the judges’ save. Close voting after the performances.

Fix the structure, and the theories stop writing themselves.

Sources: Threads discussions including posts by users kamrynmorey12, brittanymalexander, and mtbreford.