Dancing with the Stars (2005- ) is being ruined by new fans and poor judging
Fan votes should not matter as much as they do
Photo courtesy of Serecki/Wikimedia Commons
Dancing with the Stars (2005- ) (DWTS) is a very popular show, featuring celebrities paired with a professional dancing partner (pro) and competing for the famed Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. The show first aired in 2005 and has been on air ever since. This year, they are celebrating the show's 20th birthday, which, as reported by Cosmopolitan, will be a theme week later in the season.
Currently, the show is being judged by Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and former pro Derek Hough. Inaba and Tonioli have been judging the show since it first aired, alongside Leonard (Len) Goodman, who, according to NPR, tragically passed away in 2023 shortly after his retirement. Len was an outstanding judge, known for his harsh criticism and dance expertise. He was many’s favorite judge because of this; everyone always strived for a “ten from Len.”
Since Len’s retirement, the judging on the show has suffered tremendously. Multiple times throughout the episodes I will audibly sigh when the scores are announced because of the inconsistency, and my personal favorite: when they give a low score but offer no critiques. Many fans miss the energy of Len; his scores were always fair and he spoke his mind. As a long-time watcher, the show is losing its attraction when week after week, the judging is off.
Carrie Ann Inaba is the least favorite judge of many because of her tendency to be unreasonably harsh on female contestants in comparison to the males. She rarely gives out constructive feedback and is just very strange in her judging. For example, she cried after Whitney Leavitt’s dedication dance to her husband and their marriage growth, but was barely affected by Robert Irwin’s dance in honor of his mother’s strength. When former pro Kym Johnson was a guest judge, fans were shocked by her fair scoring and helpful corrections. Having her as a judge was a breath of fresh air compared to the judging of Inaba.
Another aspect of the show that needs change is the fanbase. In recent seasons, the show has been accumulating more viewers, which is great for the show, but not for its quality. Newer fans do not understand that the point of the show is dance and growth, not who came on the show as a great dancer or who your favorite contestant is. For example, Andy Richter, a current contestant, has been kept in the competition because of fans voting for him because he is “cute” and older. Elaine Hendrix, another contestant, is only a few years younger than him, but not receiving any sympathy votes.
I wish that they brought back the judges’ ability to save one contestant from the bottom two or three. This made the show more likeable and eliminations more fair. Lauren Jauregui was eliminated from the show on Week 3, which did not match her high scores and improvement. Richter and Jauregui were the bottom two contestants; if the judges were able to save a couple, Andy would have gone home because of his low scores.
Another of my hot takes is that fan votes should not count as much as they do. I watch the show because of the dancing, pros, and the overall atmosphere. When the show becomes dictated by who fans are voting for, it becomes frustrating and boring. The show used to be about who was the best dancer and who improved the most; now, it is focused on who's the most popular—this is not high school.