Even ‘DWTS’ gimmicky PR team can't save the show if they don't fix this ridiculous practice
'Dancing With The Stars' has been around for over 20 years, however, the popular dance show has been under scrutiny multiple times over voting issues. Executive producer Conrad Green once explained how the voting system worked. “Viewers can vote multiple times, so if they’re particularly passionate about certain couples, they can vote up to 10 times for each couple," Green told Deadline. Although the system has had a great run, the producers of the show faced backlash from viewers who were surprised to see talent like Sailor Brinkley Cook eliminated in Week 6 of season 27, despite being scored higher than other contestants. At the time, Ally Brooke, too, was down to the bottom two despite her solid leaderboard standing. Meanwhile, Sean Spicer, whose performances were consistently below average from the judge’s point of view, remained in the competition for weeks, per People.
A more recent example that shocked the judges and the viewers was when Harry Jowsey and Lele Pons were eliminated in season 32. According to Collider, both dancers did extremely well and were at the top of the leaderboard; however, despite the skyrocketing scores on the show, some fans were determined to send them home. In hindsight, PR expert Jenna Guarneri once revealed what causes fans' voting to overrule the judges' scores, and the answer lies in the PR tactics.
Guarneri told Newsweek, "(DTWS' ) PR strategy also includes leveraging social media to prompt viewers to see the show." Making it crystal clear that social media influencing plays a major role in tipping the scales when it comes to fans voting. The larger the fan base, the larger the reach of the contestant, and the larger the number of votes. However, with many shocking eliminations, viewers are now demanding change. One wrote on Twitter, "#DWTS FIX THE VOTING! It’s a dancing competition, not a popularity contest @officialdwts."
#DWTS FIX THE VOTING! It’s a dancing competition, not a popularity contest @officialdwts
— Cynthia 🇺🇸💜 (@thiacalsi) October 16, 2024
Amid the voting controversies, GoldDerby conducted a poll with 'DWTS' on whether the fans should have so much influence on the results. 50% were in favor of judges' scores being weighted more heavily, while 27% wanted the fan voting system to be removed entirely. Just 6% felt the current system was fair. Fans share the opinion on how voting should be changed. On Reddit, one said, "I like Strictly’s system - voting opens up after the last dance and is open for ~30 minutes. Results are filmed the same night, but are aired the following night."
Another suggested, "Unpopular opinion but I think offering 10 votes PER couple PER voting method is so excessive….you should be able to vote less so it’s not a popularity contest." The third opined, "This is part of why they allow you to vote for multiple people and have multiple votes. Instead of just voting for the one person you think was the best, you can give votes to individuals you liked and give them certain amount of votes so you're "scoring" them. Actually think it might be cool if they required you to give everybody a score and then use those results instead of just voting for certain people."
