‘Dancing With the Stars’ Most Controversial Casting Decisions Explained
When Dancing With the Stars premiered in 2005, the most controversial thing you’d see was likely some tension between pairings or a mid-dance misstep. On a particularly interesting day, maybe you’d get lucky and see Maks Chmerkovskiy talking back to one of the judges.
But as reality TV began to evolve and social media made fame more attainable, the show’s casting started to change, too, expanding to include some of pop culture’s more controversial names.
These choices weren’t necessarily an intentional strategy to keep the show in headlines, but they certainly have made sure the buzz around the show continues.
“The celebrity landscape has changed enormously,” showrunner and executive producer Conrad Green told TV Insider of the evolving casting choices. “When [the show] launched in 2005, there was no Twitter. There was no social media. There was no iPhone. Make sure you’re reflecting the world as it is now, not the world as it used to be.”
Who could have predicted the world would become obsessed with swinging Mormons this past year? How could they resist casting one (or two)? This inclusivity has always been central to the show’s appeal, which gives everyone a fair chance at ballroom glory, Green explaine.
“Our audience really embraces all types of people, and I think that’s kind of what the story has always got to be,” he said. “We are not a show that’s here for one type of America. We’re a show that’s here for all of America, and we hope that [the audience] will listen and learn and get to know people and enjoy people who might not be people they encounter a lot in their own lives.”
The contentious approach to representation may bring on some mixed reactions, but it’s clear that whatever they’re doing is working.
Season 34 has continuously broken both voting and viewer records, with a season-high 6.63 million viewers for its Wicked-themed episode, which was also the largest same-day audience for the show since Season 29. It also increased in viewers for five consecutive weeks, becoming the first fall show to do so in 34 years (when the Nielsen measurement of viewers was created).
Scroll down for a look back at some of the most controversial contestants Dancing With the Stars has had on the show.
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Anna Delvey
Anna Delvey was one of the show’s most recent contestant to make headlines for being cast. The convicted felon, who was on Season 33, was charged with grand larceny and theft services in 2019.
Delvey was paired with first-time pro Ezra Sosa, but the pair only lasted for two weeks before being sent home alongside Tori Spelling and pro Pasha Pashkov in a double elimination. When co-host Julianne Hough asked her what she would take away from the show, she dryly replied by saying “Nothing,” which soon went viral on social media.
Delvey also received a lot of attention for competing with her house arrest monitor still attached to her ankle.
Olivia Jade Giannulli
Olivia Jade competed on Season 30 of the show, just two years after it was revealed that her mother, actress Lori Loughlin, bribed the University of Southern California to admit her and her sister as students. The influencer was paired with professional Val Chmerkovsky, and the two of them placed 8th in the season after being eliminated on Janet Jackson Night.
Although some speculated Giannulli was using Dancing With the Stars as an opportunity to redeem the public’s perception of her, she’s since shut those rumors down and said she didn’t go into the show with any intention of clearing her name.
“I don’t know where that [rumor] came from because I never went on the show saying, ‘This is my redemption story,'” she told Daily Pop after her elimination. “I think that this is just kind of what it’s become, and that’s what the narrative has been. I’ve just been riding it.”
Carole Baskin
Fresh off the Tiger King craze, Carole Baskin tried her hand at dancing during Season 29 of the competition show with professional partner Pasha Pashkov. The founder and CEO of Big Cats Rescue stayed true to her love if exotic cats, dancing to “Eye of the Tiger,” “What’s New Pussycat?,” and “Circle of Life.”
Baskin scored an 11 out of 30 possible points on the season premiere and had an average score of 13 before being eliminated in the third week. Baskin and Pashkov were the second pairing to go, ending in 14th place.
Ryan Lochte
In 2016, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte took the floor of the ballroom just months after it was revealed he lied about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio. This casting choice sparked widespread outrage and ultimately led to protestors storming the ballroom during a live broadcast.
The gold medalist lasted longer than many expected, making it eight weeks before he and his partner, Cheryl Burke, were eliminated. His highest score was a 38 out of 40 possible points during the team freestyle in week seven.
Sean Spicer
The show’s backlash intensified when Sean Spicer, the former press secretary for Donald Trump, joined Season 28 and sparked debate over whether a show about dance should welcome prominent political figures to compete. This casting decision in particular caused then-host Tom Bergeron to publicly speak out against the show on Twitter (now X), saying Dancing With the Stars was not a place for politics. After the season ended, Bergeron was released from his contract and replaced by Tyra Banks.
Spicer placed 6th in Season 28th of the show, with his lowest score being just 12 out of 30 possible points. He began the season partnered with Lindsay Arnold, but she left the competition early due to a family emergency. Jenna Johnson stepped in as his partner for the last two episodes.
Paula Deen
Famous chef and TV personality Paula Deen was a contestant on Season 21 of Dancing With the Stars, where she was partnered with professional dancer Louis Van Amstel. Her casting caused backlash after it was revealed she was using racial slurs in the workplace just two years prior.
Deen lasted six weeks on the show, finishin in 9th place.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. has long been making headlines, some of them for the wrong reasons. Before he joined Season 5 of the show, the boxer was accused of domestic violence after getting in a fight with his former girlfriend outside of a nightclub in Las Vegas.
He still went on to compete on Dancing With the Stars a few years later and was partnered with Karina Smirnoff. The pair ended the competition in 9th place.
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