Former Dancing With The Stars contestant, Alexa PenaVega, raised eyebrows and started online debate when she recalled her time on the reality TV show, even revealing that one of her co-stars had joked that the show was rigged, and her comments caught the attention of Alfonso Ribeiro, who had something to say about it.
On her podcast, LexLos, which she co-hosts with her husband, Carlos PenaVega, Alexa shared a story about competing on Season 21 alongside then 15-year-old Hayes Grier. Alexa says that she remembered one night when she and Hayes found themselves at the bottom of the DWTS leaderboard, and he questioned the show’s voting.
Dancing With The Stars Rigging Comments Raise Suspicion
“I think this show is rigged,” Alexa remembered him saying, adding that Grier believed he was receiving more votes than anyone else because he had millions of social media followers at the time.
“I think the votes matter, I do, but the show is also produced,” Alexa said, revealing that judges’ scores and producers’ decisions also sway outcomes in the competition, suggesting that producers control the narrative.
DWTS Host Alfonso Ribeiro Weighs In
However, current Dancing With The Stars host, and former Mirrorball Trophy winner, Alfonso Ribeiro, couldn’t resist chiming in with his opinion on the rigging comments.
“No chance,” Ribeiro, 55, commented on social media. “We want everyone who’s popular to stay on. It’s basic logic,” he added. Meanwhile, PenaVega isn’t the only former contestant to speak out on rigging speculation.
Which Dancing With The Stars Contestants Have Accused The Show Of Being Rigged?
TV Insider reports that other former DWTS contestants have also questioned the results. Season 18’s Sean Avery claimed that he was eliminated early on in his season due to a disagreement he had with a producer. “If you have a disagreement with the producers, then generally that seals your fate quite early,” he stated.
Season 11 runner-up Kyle Massey once claimed that winner Jennifer Grey had a “mishap” during the finale, which was caught on the East Coast’s live version, but was edited out to make her performance “clean” when the recorded version aired on the West Coast.
Former pro dancer Cheryl Burke’s ex-husband, Matthew Lawrence claimed that he witnessed the show being rigged while spending time on set. His brother, Season 3 contestant, Joey Lawrence, added fuel to the fire. “I feel that there was always a lot of debate as to how much finagling was going on behind the scenes. You know, whether the audience vote and the judges’ votes, then the producers. I mean, there was certainly a scenario there that played out,” Joey said.
Executive Producer Denies The Allegations
However, the show has denied and rigging when it comes to the eliminations. In 2025, executive producer Ryan O’Dowd cleared the air about the speculation.
“We take that very seriously. We have never, nor would we ever, do anything to manipulate the votes. The show really needs to be credible. It needs to allow the viewers to have a voice and to really be the voice of who deserves to win. So we have never, nor would we ever, want to manipulate that in any way,” he told Deadline.
What Do The Fans Think?
“I’m not saying it’s rigged but why don’t they explain how the voting system works,” one person commented via X. “Who cares if it’s rigged or not? It’s an entertainment show. Might matter if they were dancing for charity instead of for themselves,” said another.
“It’s definitely not rigged lmao,” a third person weighed in. “The votes matter just as much as the judges scores, which are also rigged,” claimed a fourth social media user.
Alfonso Ribeiro may not be buying the rigging rumors, but that hasn’t stopped fans and former contestants from questioning how Dancing With the Stars works behind the scenes. With Alexa PenaVega’s story bringing the conversation back into the spotlight, viewers are once again debating whether popularity, judges’ scores and production decisions can influence who stays and who goes.
