DWTS Alum Reflects on How His Shocking Loss Led the Show To Make a Big Change

“Dancing With the Stars” has had some incredible moments throughout its 33 seasons. It has also featured memorable contestants who have impressed with their dancing skills, but many fans will argue that to this day, one of the most shocking things to happen on the show was Milo Manheim losing out on the Mirrorball Trophy (even professional dancer and co-host Julianne Hough has commented on it).

And now, years later, Manheim is reflecting on how his loss has had a positive impact on his life and led to the show making an important change.

What Has Milo Manheim Said About His Time on DWTS?

Manheim competed on DWTS Season 27 alongside professional partner Witney Carson. He had an incredible run, and many believed he would win the competition. This is not what happened because Manheim ultimately came in second place, with Bobby Bones taking the win alongside professional dancer Sharna Burgess.

The show aired in 2018, and even now, seven years later, Manheim revealed that fans still approach him to discuss how he should have won. In an interview on “The Zach Sang Show” published on July 13, the “Zombies 4” actor admitted that finishing as runner-up has been a positive experience. “To be honest, I feel like getting second place worked out in my favor because I’m reminded to this day that I was robbed,” he said.

He continued, “People come up all the time now and they’re just like, ‘You killed Dancing with the Stars.’ And I don’t think I would be getting that validation had I won. So it’s really nice.” However, the biggest takeaway is how the show changed as a result of it!

What Changes Happened After Milo Manheim’s DWTS Season?

At the time Season 27 was filmed, Manheim had higher scores from the judges than Bones, but he still lost. There has since been a change in the voting system, which the actor reflected on.

“I will say that I was grateful that they changed the voting system after that year…So the fact that I was able to make them look at the system a little bit, that’s the best thing I could have possibly hoped for,” he said.

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba also commented on these changes in an interview with Entertainment Tonight ahead of Season 28. “I do know that we have made some adjustments to the judging, because we got a lot of complaints,” she said. “We listened to what everybody said about what happened last year.” A combination of live votes and judges’ votes created an interesting new dynamic to the competition, one which many welcomed.