“Dancing With the Stars” pro Sharna Burgess won her first and only Mirrorball Trophy on season 27 alongside radio personality Bobby Bones. However, the win ended up being bittersweet for Burgess, who ended up in tears due to online “hate.”
“I did all the work that everyone else had done. And so in the moment, that win felt validated and it felt really beautiful and I was excited,” Burgess said on the December 14 episode of the “Lightweights” podcast.
“And then for two weeks after it, I cried because of the hate that I got online. Oh, it makes me emotional thinking about it now. And for a long time after that, I wished that I didn’t win because of the hate that I was getting and because people were saying that we ruined the show,” she explained, adding, “we have nothing to do with who wins.”
Burgess sat out season 28, but returned for two more seasons. She hasn’t competed on the show since season 30.
Bobby Bones & Sharna Burgess’ Mirrorball Win Was Considered Controversial
Burgess and Bones took a lot of heat after winning season 27. The reason? Many felt as though Bones wasn’t as good of a dancer as some of the other contestants on the season. Nevertheless, Bones’ fanbase carried him straight through the finale and he hoisted the trophy.
“He was the worst winner in DWTS History, I hated how he portrayed himself as the underdog, in reality the real underdog on that season was Evanna. Not Bobby Bones,” one fan wrote on a Reddit thread in 2020.
“Basically he was a very average dancer (probably deserved 5th or 6th his season) but he had a huge fanbase from his radio show and he ended up winning. Not all bad because it was Sharna’s first win as a pro and she deserved it,” someone else said.
Julianne Hough Didn’t Think Bobby Bones Should Have Won the Mirrorball Trophy
Some people associated with the show feel Bones wasn’t the best dancer, including Julianne Hough.
During an appearance on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” in August, Hough was asked if there was ever a winner on the show that she strongly disagreed with. When Bones’ name was brought up, Hough agreed.
“I think it’s because of the fan base, right? It’s all about the fan base on that show. He was not the best dancer. …But people love him,” she said.
Bones later responded to the comment and interestingly didn’t go against anything that Hough said.
“I was the worst dancer. I take pride in that,” Bones shouted in a video posted to his Instagram feed. “Now I tried as hard as anybody in the history of the show but I can’t dance now, couldn’t dance then,” he continued.
“We did it together. I was the greatest champion ever because I’m the man of the people,” he said before giving Hough a shoutout.
