The 12 Biggest “Dancing with the Stars” Controversies Ever, from Bobby Bones’ Win to Val Chmerkovskiy’s Suspension
The 12 Biggest “Dancing with the Stars” Controversies Ever, from Bobby Bones’ Win to Val Chmerkovskiy’s Suspension
Kelly AllenTue, October 20, 2026 at 11:30 AM UTC
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Valentin Chmerkovskiy; Carrie Ann Inaba; Tony Dovolani and Kate GosselinCredit: Disney/Andrew Eccles; Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Mark Von Holden/WireImage
Dancing with the Stars has aired countless dramatic dances over the years — and drummed up its fair share of controversial moments.
Dancer Val Chmerkovskiy’s Oscars slap comment amid season 35 marked the show’s first pro suspension in its history, but it’s not the first major controversy to cross the ballroom floor.
In fact, when the series first premiered back in 2005, General Hospital star Kelly Monaco’s season 1 win was so shocking, the show aired a rematch, which resulted in Seinfeld star John O’Hurley’s victory.
“It was just so wild at the end of the first season that there was enough controversy, buzz and interest with the audience that it became necessary to have an entire special just to do this one dance-off,” Valoree Papsidera, DWTS’ senior supervising producer, told Entertainment Weekly in July 2025.
Here’s everything to know about some of the biggest controversies in Dancing with the Stars history.
01 of 12
Kelly Monaco’s season 1 win resulted in a rematch dance-off episode
Kelly Monaco and Alec Mazo; John O’Hurley and Charlotte JorgensenCredit: Adam Larkey/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty(2)
In 2005, Monaco won Dancing with the Stars’ first season. However, many viewers believed O’Hurley should’ve taken home the inaugural Mirrorball Trophy.
After the fan backlash to the result was so strong, ABC aired a special rematch dance-off episode two months later. O’Hurley was named the winner after the dance-off.
“It didn’t phase me at all,” Monaco told Entertainment Weekly in July 2025 of the dance-off results. “I was like, ‘Of course, apples or oranges, there’s going to be one over the other.’ And yeah, there was some controversy over it, which made me doubtful, like, ‘Well, should I have won?’ ”
She added, “I don’t think I was the best dancer, but I was the most supported. So, I was like, ‘Okay, let’s go.’ ”
02 of 12
Tony Dovolani said Carrie Ann Inaba doesn’t understand ballroom dance during season 5
Jane Seymour and Tony Dovolani; Carrie Ann InabaCredit: Kaelson/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage
During season 5, dancer Tony Dovolani got into a heated debate with judge Carrie Ann Inaba about lifts, which are not supposed to be performed in traditional competitive ballroom and Latin dances.
“She does not understand what ballroom dancing is,” Dovolani told PEOPLE in October 2007. “She’s never done it herself.”
Dovolani said that while Inaba is respected for her background in hip-hop, she’s “the inappropriate judge to pick on the lifts” because “she does not have a ballroom background.”
The day after Inaba criticized his partner Jane Seymour’s Viennese waltz, Dovolani said he presented Inaba with a ballroom rule book. “Because she does not know anything about ballroom, I figured she should at least read the rule book,” Dovolani said. “I highlighted the parts I wanted her to read, including the description of what a lift is.”
Dovolani said Inaba “laughed about it ... and then I paid for it this week because ... we got the lowest score from her.”
However, a source close to Inaba said the rule book presentation never happened.
03 of 12
Dovolani briefly quit on star Kate Gosselin during season 10
Tony Dovolani and Kate GosselinCredit: Adam Larkey/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
In season 10, Dovolani was involved in another dramatic moment — not with the judges but with his controversial celebrity partner, Kate Plus 8 star Kate Gosselin.
During their season, Gosselin struggled, which caused tension in their rehearsals. After Gosselin said Dovolani “wasn’t taking into consideration how I learn” during one session, Dovolani stormed off and declared that he “quit.”
Shortly afterwards, Dovolani returned, saying he’d “overreacted.” Despite the heated moment, Dovolani continued to dance with Gosselin the show, but the pair were eliminated during week 5 of the competition.
In a blog post at the time, Gosselin said she was still left with “a very positive impression of the entire experience,” per CBS News.
04 of 12
Dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy told judge Len Goodman to retire during season 13
Hope Solo and Maksim Chmerkovskiy; Len GoodmanCredit: Adam Taylor/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Following one of dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy’s performances with soccer player Hope Solo in season 13, judge Len Goodman said it was their “the worst dance of the whole season.”
When the audience in the ballroom booed Goodman for his remarks, Maks hyped them up. After a short back-and-forth about the value of judge versus audience opinions, Goodman shared that he had nearly 50 years of experience in the dance business.
Maks cut him off by saying, “Maybe it’s time to go.”
The pro later told Good Morning America that he had “nothing to apologize for.” Maks and Solo ultimately placed fourth in the season.
05 of 12
Maksim’s season 13 star Hope Solo later claimed he slapped her
Hope Solo and Maksim ChmerkovskiyCredit: Adam Taylor/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
In Solo’s 2012 memoir, Solo: A Memoir of Hope, she accused Maks of being harsh on her during the experience. She alleged he manhandled her during rehearsals, including once slapping her across the face.
Maks denied the allegations, telling TMZ they were “completely false.”
“I don’t like her, and that’s the end of it,” he said on The Real in October 2015.
06 of 12
Kellie Pickler beat Zendaya on season 16
Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough; Val Chmerkovskiy and ZendayaCredit: Adam Taylor/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty(2)
During the season 16 finale, Zendaya earned slightly higher scores than Kellie Pickler, nabbing 95 points across two nights to Pickler’s 94. Pickler would go on to win thanks to viewer votes.
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However, none of the ABC website votes counted that week due to issues with the system. Votes were only counted via phone, text and Facebook, per CBS News.
“I’m still harboring a little animosity about that [loss,]” Zendaya told W Magazine in January 2025. “I felt that loss. I was only 16 years old, and it was highly stressful. Being on live television every week? It’s so scary.”
07 of 12
Julianne Hough became a judge while Derek Hough competed during season 19
Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Julianne Hough and Bruno TonioliCredit: Adam Taylor/Walt Disney Television via Getty
When Julianne Hough joined the show as a full-time judge for season 19, her brother Derek Hough was competing with YouTube star Bethany Mota, which raised concerns about favoritism.
In response, Julianne said at the time that she would likely be even more honest with Derek when giving feedback. “It’d be different if it was like my mom or something. I don’t want to hurt my mom’s feelings,” Julianne told TV Guide in September 2014. “But it’s Derek. We’re friends. We’re buddies. We’re honest with each other.”
She continued, “We’ve definitely called each other out on our stuff. If anything, I might be even harder on him.”
Derek and Mota ultimately placed fourth that season.
08 of 12
Protesters rushed the ballroom floor after star Ryan Lochte’s first dance during season 23
Tom Bergeron, Ryan Lochte and Cheryl BurkeCredit: ABC
After Ryan Lochte’s inagural performance on Dancing with the Stars season 23, two protestors rushed the ballroom floor while wearing anti-Lochte shirts.
In footage from the moment, the protestors screamed, “You’re a liar,” before they were removed by security. They were arrested and booked for the misdemeanor of trespassing, per ABC News.
That wasn’t the only tense moment. Four women were also removed from the audience after yelling anti-Lochte chants during the show’s commercial breaks.
The protests were in response to a story Lochte fabricated about being robbed at gunpoint during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
09 of 12
Star Bobby Bones and dancer Sharna Burgess won season 27
Bobby Bones and Sharna BurgessCredit: Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
In season 27, radio personality Bobby Bones and his dance partner Sharna Burgess won the Mirrorball Trophy, beating fan-favorite team Milo Manheim and his pro partner Witney Carson.
The win was met with online backlash, including from Bergeron and Julianne. In 2025, Bones revealed he gave the Mirrorball Trophy back to ABC because of the controversy.
“I try not to get my feelings hurt, especially about stuff like this, but this was hurtful,” he said in a November 2025 TikTok, adding that it wasn’t “because of what was said, but really who said it.”
Bergeron later apologized to Bones, writing on his Instagram Stories, “It wasn’t my intention to hurt your feelings. My ‘ouch’ was based on my honest feeling that your win spoke to a need to address the balance between judge and viewer voting.”
10 of 12
The show has featured several controversial contestants
Lindsay Arnold and Sean Spicer; Carole Baskin and Pasha PashkovCredit: Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty(2)
Dancing with the Stars has featured several controversial celebrities over the years.
For season 28, Sean Spicer, Donald Trump’s former press secretary, was cast. The decision was criticized by many, including then-host Tom Bergeron who penned a lengthy message on X (then Twitter).
After a one-year hiatus, Bergeron had hoped the show would be a “joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably decisive booking from ANY political affiliations,” he wrote. “Subsequently (and rather obviously), a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood, ‘go in a different direction.’ ”
Other controversial castings have included Carole Baskin, the Tiger King star whose late husband, Don Lewis, mysteriously disappeared in 1997, on season 29 and convicted con artist Anna Delvey on season 33.
11 of 12
Hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews left after season 28
Tom Bergeron and Erin AndrewsCredit: Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Bergeron hosted Dancing with the Stars from its premiere in 2005 and Erin Andrews joined as a co-host in 2014. After season 28, they both left the show.
In 2020, ABC and BBC Studios released a joint statement announcing the show was embarking on “a new creative direction.” Bergeron and Andrews have both said the news came as a surprise to them.
“Just informed @DancingABC will be continuing without me,” Bergeron wrote on Twitter at the time. “It’s been an incredible 15 year run and the most unexpected gift of my career. I’m grateful for that and for the lifelong friendships made.”
Andrews opened up about her connection to the show in a September 2020 interview with an interview with Extra. “I danced on the show and then worked on the show for so many years,” she said. “I always call it a Dancing with the Stars mafia — once you’re in, it’s really hard to break away. That’s a tight-knit group.”
12 of 12
Dancer Val Chmerkovskiy referenced Will Smith’s Oscars slap during season 35
Val Chmerkovskiy; Carrie Ann InabaCredit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Scott Kirkland/Shutterstock
During season 35, Val made a controversial reference to Will Smith’s Oscars slap — when the actor slapped host Chris Rock after he made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at the 2022 awards show.
“You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” Val wrote in a since-deleted TikTok, according to a screenshot obtained by Page Six.
The dancer was referencing judge Inaba’s comments about his wife and fellow pro dancer Jenna Johnson’s performance with her celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr. Inaba said they included an illegal lift in their routine.
Chmerkovskiy received a one-week suspension for the comment. Alan Bersten, who was eliminated earlier in the season, will step in to dance with his partner, actress Jenna Dewan.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
