Since 2005, Dancing with the Stars has offered up plenty of surprising dance achievements made by some well-known Hollywood names. Kristi Yamaguchi, Shawn Johnson, Bindi Irwin, and Rumer Willis are just a handful of celebrities who have appeared on the series and shocked audiences with their ability to not only excel in their own industries but knock DWTS viewers' socks off, too.
But after so many seasons, and so many winners, fans are a bit disenchanted with Dancing with the Stars, and in Reddit threads, they've pinpointed one significant issue with the series. That problem? The fact that the show's producers seem to favor certain professional dancers over others, to the point where contestants who should have won, didn't.
Derek And Julianne Hough Are Touted As Gods, Say Long-Time Fans...
Derek and Julianne Hough have successfully "taken over" the dance world with Dancing with the Stars and ventures inspired by it. But long-term viewers say that's not really fair.
In fact, fans on Reddit seem to share the unpopular opinion that neither of the siblings is as great as the show's producers apparently think they are.
One top-rated comment confessed, "I can’t stand either of the Hough siblings." Another echoed the same sentiment, saying, "I have to admit that while I think that Derek is ridiculously talented and a great choreographer/dancer, I can’t stand him either."
Yet another commenter added, "Derek and Julianne are fabulous dancers. Just not the heroes and gods the show makes them out to be."
On the heels of those comments, other fans contributed their thoughts, summing up that it seems Julianne and Derek get the best partners, whereas the other dancers get what they get — yet still manage to win some competitions (and sometimes find romantic partners, too).
As the show expands its viewer base, in part by enlisting not-so-famous contestants, commenters wondered whether there would ever be a shift that would balance out the Houghs.
Viewers Think The Show Has A Lot Of Room For Improvement
Though the original Reddit thread asked for unpopular opinions about DWTS, many opinions turned out to be fairly commonplace.
For one, commenters tended to agree that Derek and Julianne get way too much credit and that there have been far more deserving contestants that didn't win simply because they weren't partnered with a Hough.
This sparked a conversation about how some of the best performances didn't earn the scores viewers expected. One such example was Zendaya's performance, which multiple Redditors admitted they were still bitter about, calling it the "biggest injustice."
So, in short, viewers who have watched multiple seasons of the show want more transparency in how the dance couples are paired up, and how the scores are calculated.
Viewers suggested that the scores have been inflated to a "ridiculous" level in recent seasons, and that "It all went downhill when they got rid of the orchestra."
There have also been controversies involving long-time host Tyra Banks, who people often get mad at for a variety of reasons. To date, Tyra still appears on the show, and has since 2020.
Unfortunately, given how resistant DWTS seems to be to change, fans don't think that things will improve.
Will Derek And Julianne Always Be The Heart Of DWTS?
While many of the dissenters didn't say they would stop watching Dancing with the Stars, they did express indignation over how the show has changed — negatively, from their perspective — over the years.
One commenter suggested that "Bachelorettes and Bachelors will be the death of the show," which follows others' complaints that mediocre dancers (including former Bachelor contestants) somehow make it all the way through to the finals.
So while the show has expanded its contestant criteria, viewers don't seem to think that will make a difference — or usurp the Houghs from their god/goddess positions.
Yet the series shows no signs of slowing down in popularity; Redditors might make up a small fraction of the show's viewers since the show entered its 31st season in 2022.
And while some of the show's earlier celebrities were significant names in Hollywood, there are some more obscure contestants joining the series (who aren't Bachelor nation survivors).