‘DWTS’ EP Responds to Fan Criticism: ‘We Take That Very Seriously’

It seems like every season of “Dancing With the Stars,” there are fans who complain that the competition is “rigged” in some way. A “DWTS” executive producer addressed the criticism, noting that the show is in no way fixed.

‘DWTS’ EP Responds to Fans Who Complain That the Show Is Rigged

In a May 2025 interview with Deadline, “Dancing With the Stars” Executive Producer Ryan O’Dowd shared his thoughts on the fans who say the show is rigged.

“Every year, there’s always a small contingent of fans who accuse the show of being fixed,” the interviewer stated. “Whenever you hear those complaints, what do you want to say?”

O’Dowd confirmed that there is no manipulation involved. “We take that very seriously,” he answered. “We have never, nor would we ever do anything to manipulate the votes.”

He added, “The show really needs to be credible. It needs to allow the viewers to have a voice and to really be the voice of who deserves to win. So we have never nor would we ever want to manipulate that in any way.”

‘DWTS’ EP Says Competition Show Can Create ‘Intense Moments’

O’Dowd was also asked about his thoughts on past contestants who share that they had a negative experience with the show or believe that they should have won. He summed it up by explaining how the competitive nature of the show often leads to “intense moments” for those involved because everyone wants to win.

“I see the stories, I hear those things. I take comfort in the fact that there are going to be outliers with anything in life,” O’Dowd shared. “When you look at the sheer volume of celebrities that we’ve booked on the show, 99.9% have actually come out to speak unbelievably positively about their experience.”

The “DWTS” EP continued, “One of the elements that makes the show as successful as it is, is that it’s a competition. And so with competition, there’s going to be intense moments. You have these pros and celebrities in a rehearsal space, sometimes 10, 12 hours a day because they want to win.”

He noted, “And so when you’re competing at that high of a level, there are going to be intense moments.”

O’Dowd added, “And as I said, 99.9% of the time, it’s all welcome and it’s all in the interest of growing and learning and ultimately getting better.”