Dancing With the Stars fans have decided Season 35 is rigged.
The theory: ABC is protecting contestants from its own shows.
Some context.
“I'm just gonna say, something weird is going on with ABC,” wrote Threads user kamrynmorey12 in a post that cleared 28,000 views. “Notice how all their precious stars from various ABC shows are still present.”
And honestly? The examples are not nothing.
Harry keeps getting framed around Grey's Anatomy, an ABC show. They literally filmed him rehearsing on the Grey's set. His Glee years, which happened on Fox, barely come up.
Jackson plays for the Savannah Bananas. The Banana Bowl is set to stream on Disney+ this month. The team actually played at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex earlier this year. And a commenter pointed out the DWTS troupe performed with the Bananas this week.
“I was like, oh, so Jackson is staying because it's his birthday or because of his game being aired on Disney Plus?” wrote user essi_moni.
“They need to keep their corporate synergy gang till Disney Night,” wrote user 1lilspark.
Fair. Suspicious. I get it.
Then Three People Blew It Up
In the same thread. Independently.
“Hulu people were eliminated week 1,” wrote user bh_89. “Hulu is part of the Disney/ABC family.”
“Weren't two people from hulu/freeform shows eliminated in week one though?” asked user jenniferrpierre.
“Really? Because I seem to remember that the first two people eliminated were connected to ABC shows, as well,” wrote user lizfetner.
So Disney-family contestants have absolutely gone home. Some of them went first.
If the network is protecting its own, somebody needs to explain those three.
What Is 100 Percent Happening
Cross-promotion. Nobody is even hiding it.
Filming Harry on the Grey's Anatomy set is an ad for Grey's Anatomy. Pushing Jackson and the Bananas the same month the Banana Bowl hits Disney+ is an ad for the Banana Bowl. The troupe dancing with the Bananas is an ad for both at once.
That is just what happens when one company owns the network, the streamer, the sports complex, and the dancing show.
But promoting somebody and rigging an elimination are not the same thing. Only one of those is visible, and it is the first one.
The Boring Answer Fits Better
“Unfortunately, Jackson is just getting the fan votes despite his dancing ability,” wrote user caroline4ster.
“Athletes have always had significant fan votes on the show,” wrote user instajules28. “They often go far to the finals.”
That is DWTS history, not a conspiracy. Athletes walk in with a fanbase that votes in bulk and does not care about footwork.
Promotion makes someone impossible to miss. Being impossible to miss gets you votes. Votes keep you safe.
Real effect. Just works through the audience instead of around it.
Here Is the Thing Actually Broken
“We need the judge's save back,” wrote user caroline4ster.
Correct. That is the fix.
Judges' save means the bottom two go to the panel, and the scores decide it. No save means votes decide everything and the scores are just two hours of commentary on an outcome they cannot touch.
And one commenter found something even sharper.
“The thing that I don't get is why the voting is opened throughout the whole competition,” wrote user aleksandra_d99, comparing it to shows back home. “I'm used to the system of see all performances, open voting, fill 20 minutes while people are voting, close voting.”
Sit with that. Voting is open before people have danced. So you can vote for your favorite before watching them do anything.
That is not a reaction to a performance. That is loyalty submitted in advance.
Also, the Judges Look Confused
“Giving Julia 7s and Guillermo a 5 is not even the same universe,” wrote user thebarre_ista.
And someone caught the body language.
“The fact that the pros rally around each other and the shock on the judges faces tells me it's a producers issue,” wrote user mtbreford.
The panel has looked legitimately blindsided more than once this season. That is not the face of somebody in on it.
So Where Does That Leave Us
The anger is completely justified. The explanation is wrong.
Disney owns everything in the chain and can make certain contestants unavoidable. Being unavoidable gets you votes. And right now, votes steamroll the judges with nothing to stop them.
Bring back the judges' save. Close the voting after everybody dances.
Fix that, and these theories stop writing themselves.
Sources: Threads discussions including posts by users kamrynmorey12, brittanymalexander, and mtbreford.
