‘Dancing with the Stars’ Host Admits Show’s Winners Are ‘All About the Fan Base’
Dancing with the Stars host Julianne Hough claims the series’ winners are often “all about the fan base.” She cited one champ whose dance skills shouldn’t have allowed them to take home a Mirrorball trophy, but it was the fans who pushed them through. In a shocking twist, the season 27 winner agreed with her comments.
Julianne Hough admits a star’s fan base can make mirrorball winners
During an interview for Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live, Julianne Hough took her place on the sofa. Cohen put her in the hot seat regarding her tenure on Dancing with the Stars.
Hough, who currently co-hosts the series with Alfonso Ribeiro, was asked by Cohen whether there has ever been a celebrity on the show with whom she has “strongly disagreed” taking home the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. She remained silent until fellow guest Mickey Guyton whispered, “Bobby Bones.”
“Oh, I actually agree with you! And I think it’s because of the fan base, right? It’s all about the fan base on that show,” Hough agreed. “He was not the best dancer.” Hough then ended her commentary on a positive note, saying that Bones has “great” fans who “love him.”
Bobby Bones responds to Julianne Hough’s critique of his ‘Dancing with the Stars’ win
In an Instagram video, Bobby Bones responded to Julianne Hough’s commentary. Surprisingly, he agreed with her assessment of his 2018 win alongside pro Sharna Burgess.
Bones was among the top four dancers that season, which included Alexis Ren, Evanna Lynch, and Milo Manheim. He was consistently the lowest-scoring contestant each week and continued to get pushed through to the top spot.
“Julianne Hough can get no slander from me,” he admitted. “I was the worst dancer. I take pride in that. Now, I tried as hard as anybody in the show’s history, but I can’t dance now. I couldn’t dance then.”
“We did it together. I’m the greatest champion ever,” he continued. “A man of the people. I’m the man that you guys selected!”
Bones concluded, “I’m a terrible dancer. I was a terrible dancer. But they changed the rules after I left because the fan vote was so good.” Hough commented on his video, writing, “Hahaha.”
What did ‘Dancing with the Stars’ change about voting after Bobby Bones’ win?
After Bobby Bones’ win, several vital adjustments were made behind the scenes to address fan concern over voting. The show implemented what they believed were safeguards to ensure that all dancers had a fair shot at the mirrorball trophy.
Judges reportedly planned to prioritize dance moves and technical talent, for example, rather than celebrating crowd-pleasers. A judge’s save was implemented, led by late head judge Len Goodman. The judge’s save allowed the panel to save one of the two bottom couples facing elimination on their dance techniques and adherence to ballroom standards.
This rule was the first time judges had a say in which celebrity went home. Before the judge’s save, eliminated couples were decided based on a combination of the judge’s scores and viewer votes.
All votes must be cast during the Eastern time zone live viewing time. Central and West time zone viewers can still vote but will be making their choices on the prior week’s dances. In the past, Dancing with the Stars voting continued for 24 hours, and results were aired during the following evening’s elimination episode.
Dancing with the Stars has not revealed any plans for further changes in season 33. The new season debuts Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
