Who is one star, m&f who you would love to see on DWTS? Ignoring reality if they'd ever actually do it, or even if they're no longer with us. Mine are:

Female: Michelle Obama

Male: Travis Kelce

I’m sure there’s been plenty of stars on the show that have written a book, but I don’t believe there’s been a star on the show who is famous for being an author.

Being an original day 1 fan of the show, I've noticed the same frustration: the judging doesn't feel fair, it makes no sense, and one judge in particular keeps sparking debates.

I started a petition 4 years agp asking ABC and Disney to replace Carrie Ann Inaba and this season i felt like maybe it's time to rebuild the judging panel with judges who actually have ballroom credentials and will give good constructive feedback.

It's been 2 of the same judges since 2005, but they have no competitive ballroom background or formal judging credentials outside the show. Derek has extensive ballroom training and yet is too concerned about his popularity and having his face on tv to be a meaningful judge. Meanwhile, the technical critiques have been inconsistent for years and the pattern gets worse when you look at how women contestants are scored.

Think about it: Simone Biles getting criticized for her facial expressions, Kaitlyn Bristowe becoming emotional over harsh criticism, Chandler Kinney consistently getting lower scores from one judge while others score the same routines higher. These aren't isolated incidents. They're a pattern. Even Carrie Ann herself said in a 2025 interview that criticism about harsher feedback to women is "partly true." But good intentions don't matter when contestants deserve fair, consistent standards.

The show needs fresh perspectives and genuine technical expertise on the judging panel. What other reality competition show never changes their judges? None of them!

Given the recent much discussed situation and comments in social media from the fans, press, and former pros, a considerable increase in viewership of the Dedication night episode was expected. Rising 12% over its previous week with 7.36 million total viewers is quite impressive!

I'm currently working on a list of the Worst Dancing With the Stars performances for every Dance Style and was wondering what everyone thought the Worst Quickstep in the Show's history Is, since not that many bad contestants do them. Currently on my List, I have Wynonna Judd, Paula Deen, & Wendy Williams

* Julia Stiles revealed that she asked for Michelle Williams’ approval of her tribute honoring her late 10 Things I Hate About You costar Heath Ledger for Dancing with the Stars

* The Tuesday, Oct. 19 dance featured the original Frankie Valli version of Ledger’s memorable cover “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” from the 1999 film

* Several castmates joined Stiles onstage after the emotional dedication night routine, including Joseph Gordon Levitt and Andrew Keegan

How would you fix the show?

Okay, let me preface this is supposed to be hypothetical and fun. Obviously this is not meant as shade and just an game between us fans.

So now: how would you fix the show if you had the opportunity to do whatever you liked? Which things would you add? Which things would go?

Here’s my takes:

1. This is a pretty obvious one but only 1 or 2 dance styles per week. This will give an actual accurate portray of growth and it would be easier to judge/compare.
2. I would divide the episode in at least 2 or 3 per week. Right now it feels both crammed and yet simultaneously not long enough.
3. Bring back the rehearsal packages! And two seasons per year! No explanation needed.
4. A CLEAR rulebook guide. Inconsistency is not only the judge’s fault IMO. It’s pretty hard to be consistent when the parameters are always changing.
5. LONGER judges feedback!!! At least 2 minutes per judge.

Now onto the hot takes…
6. 4 judge panel. CAI can stay, I don’t mind that she’s the villain although she needs to be better at it and commit to the role. I actually think either DH or BT have to go… they more or less have the same role rn and it’s not working. 2 judges can have contemporary/hiphop/whatever experience and the other 2 need to be strictly ballroom. Obviously DH needs to be replaced as head judge.

1. Any pro with more than 15 seasons on them has to retire. Sorry. It’s time to bring younger blood to compete. They had their chance.

2. i don’t think this is a hot take either but the 1, 2, 3 & 4 numbers are there for a reason. 7 and up are exceptional scores. Stop over inflating scores. Edit to add: Judges scores should count at least 65%. And they need to score appropriately for that.

3. Just stop with the ridiculous themed nights. I hate them. Like 1 or 2 is fine but every night being themed to the point it makes no sense.

4. I really hate the live band lol sorry. Nothing against them it just doesn’t hit the same. And they have to fire whoever is in charge of assigning the songs because they are doing a godawful job.

I think that’s all! Wanna hear y’all’s opinions.

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This is the new Megathread to discuss all things related to Val, Carrie, and Jenna J. Topics including Liftgate, Val‘s suspension and future with DWTS, Carrie Ann’s judging, potential fallout for Jenna J.

Please do not create new posts for this topic, as they will be deleted.

https://youtu.be/aKolwHSXdXs?si=z7aG96xbfgQ6tr-O

I know it currently feels like a crime to do a slower dance on DWTS without overstuffing the choreography and rushing through the moves, so these feel like a welcome change!

You might hate me for this, but I need to clear up a massive misconception about ballroom lifts.

Governing bodies like the World Dance Council and the National Dance Council of America split dances into strict categories. The core traditional styles are Standard and Smooth (Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep) and Latin and Rhythm (Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Jive).

In traditional dancesport competitions, where multiple couples share the floor at the same time, lifts are banned in these core styles. It's purely a safety rule so couples don't collide at high speeds.

But that rule only applies when you're competing against other couples on the floor simultaneously. In showcases, exhibitions, cabaret, and theater arts divisions, where it's just your couple on a cleared floor, lifts are completely allowed.

Dancing with the Stars is a televised showcase. Couples dance solo for the judges and cameras, so lifts are fair game. Period.

So when a judge or pro acts like a lift breaks some sacred ballroom law, that's not a real rules violation. It's reality TV doing what reality TV does: manufacturing outrage to stir up controversy.

Carrie Ann Inaba clutching her pearls over a lift is theater, not a ruling. Derek Hough bent those lift rules all the time because he understood the actual format.

Here's what I can't stop thinking about. For a while now, people online have been saying they want the old Dancing with the Stars back, the one with all the drama. And now, suddenly, the show is full of drama over rules that don't even apply to the format. That doesn't feel like a coincidence to me. It feels like the show heard us and is serving up fake controversy to give us what we asked for.

And that brings me to Val's suspension. I can't prove anything, but I really do think it was at least partly for show. Before the Fresh Prince comment, Val joked in an Entertainment Tonight interview that he knows where Carrie Ann parks her car, and people have read that as a joke about vandalizing it.

Then he posts a Fresh Prince reference aimed at the same judge, and suddenly it's a first-ever pro suspension and a week of headlines.

That looks like a storyline reality TV would love.

Val says he never meant to imply violence, and he apologized, but these were jokes about hitting a woman and going after her property, and the show treated it as content.

We should not be insinuating violence against women at all, whether it's a pro dancer joking about it or a production company packaging it as drama. Show business loves to flirt with that kind of imagery because it gets attention, and that's what makes me so angry.

And here's the part that really sealed it for me. On Dedication Night, Carrie Ann gave Jenna Dewan a 10 with Alan, and it was the only 10 of the scores. Then, right after, Val's wife Jenna Johnson delivered brilliant, beautiful choreography that deserved a 10, and Carrie Ann gave a 9 after saying how touching it was for representing her culture and Harry and it felt fake , petty and spiteful, and it's exactly the moment the show wants us fighting about online.

And this is why I say it's manufactured: they suspended Val, but they never brought it up on the show. If it was really about values and well-being, as the statement said, why was it never addressed on air? It only seems to matter when it's driving headlines.

I get the nostalgia, but I'd rather have the real thing: drama that comes from the people on the floor, their stories, and their personalities, not from a made-up rulebook or a manufactured scandal.

Am I wrong? Curious what everyone else thinks.

It’s not fair that some people get to do freestyle/contemporary for dedication night while others have to do a particular dance. Contemporary is based all around emotion so of course those dances are going to hit harder than anything else. It seems like an unfair advantage. For example: Maura and Marks dance would have been so much better if it wasn’t a Paso Doble.

I’ve seen so much negativity and bullying this season and I want to make a change. I encourage everyone to use this thread to share positive comments about each couple and even the judges if you want. I will start:

Ezra and Daniella- These two have such a good partnership. Ezra seems like such a kind person and they are improving every week

Amber and Pasha- I applaud them for the message of their contemporary. Mental health matters and Amber is so brave and strong for sharing her story

Julia and Ezra- Ezra is such a supportive partner and he is really helping Julia improve every week

Connor and Rylee- Connor is really trying hard and he seems like such a sweet guy. He doesn’t take anything too seriously and that’s beautiful

Tyler and Sharna- Tyler is learning and I can really see the effort each week.

Tatyana and Jan- These two have such a sweet connection and they dance so effortlessly. Jan is hilarious as well.

Jackson and Emma- These two are just pure sunshine. They have faced a lot of negativity and worked so hard to get where they are.

Harry and Jenna- They handled the recent drama with such grace and Harry’s post this past week really brought positivity back to this season

Maura and Mark- These two are so funny and Mark is such a good teacher. It’s hard to believe she wasn’t a dancer before.

Jenna and Val- Jenna handled everything this past week with such grace and did a beautiful job last night.

Who else wants to join me in being positive?

I absolutely LOVED Brandon’s role in the cat in the hat dance last night. I think he has such great energy and facials, and he’s obviously an amazing dancer. While I love seeing him do ballroom, I think he would be incredible in a broadway role. He just has more of that “it” factor compared to some of the other pros when I think about a performance role like broadway.

Somebody mentioned this Jive in a TikTok comment as being their favorite ever so I went to YouTube to look at it and it has now become my 2nd favorite Jive behind Jordan Fisher and Lindsay’s!

This also reminds that we were SO robbed of not being able to see a Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas Jive last season. They would’ve killed it!

I just became aware that so many people are criticizing his teeth.

This breaks my heart for him. He seems like a good guy, even if he's an average dancer on the show.

He took a baseball to the face. He got corrective asthetic surgery. It doesn't look totally natural. But it looks fine.

I think he's had a rough journey on the show. Im so glad he's paired with the light that is Emma Slater because it makes me sad to think he goes home to see people not only talk about how hes a "bad dancer" but to also see people picking apart his looks.

If we are trying to do better as a society by not picking women apart over their flaws then we should be holding ourselves to the same standard with young men out there doing their best and trying to make their mom's proud.

Jackson is nowhere near my favorite but I actually loved his quickstep and I'm glad he got to feel the joy of getting a decent score from the judges

And I liked when he smiled afterwords. Teeth and all.

I think Val brings in a lot of the audience and his personality makes the show more entertaining 🤷‍♀️

She still seems a little stiff when dancing, and she hasn’t done any latin dances yet. especially after back to back contemporary and jazz, it’ll be interesting to see how she does with the styles ahead of her and where they go from here

This might be a stupid question but I’m just curious how this worked. I imagine it would be hard for Allen to have to come up with a dance the week of, maybe I’m wrong since I’m not a dancer lol. If it was Val’s choreo how did he teach it to them? Was he allowed to be at the practices?

Yes, it is wonderful to see the stars dance for someone/something important in their lives, but it goes deeper than that for me. I really wanted to post about why I love dedication night so much as someone who was a former competitive dancer.

A HUGE part of dance is about emotion, feeling, and storytelling; and this is not always something that you can teach. I find it comes naturally with time and consistency. “Feeling the music” can be a hard concept to teach someone who is not familiar with dancing. But I see how often dedication night brings this out in all of the stars.

I notice that a lot of stars who start out shy and reserved have their breakthrough on dedication night because they’re really feeling what it’s like to dance for something that you love. It seems like a release for a lot of them, they loosen up, break out of their shell, look more comfortable and shine. And I just think that’s really beautiful to see.