The Biggest Complaints About Dancing With The Stars Season 35 So Far

After 35 seasons, you might think "Dancing with the Stars" viewers would've run out of things to take issue with in regards to the show, but that isn't the case. To a certain extent, the competition reality series has been a well-oiled and incredibly successful machine, even if there is a lot the cameras don't show you on "Dancing With The Stars." Thanks to the jaw-dropping routines, the consistent trio of knowledgeable judges, and the wide array of beloved contestants vying for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, people keep tuning in. As per Variety, the series saw a 24% increase in viewers during its 2026 premiere. As popular as it is, that is not to say the audience is on board with everything that happens in front of the cameras and behind the scenes. For starters, some fans are not thrilled with some of the big swings the show has taken over the years. 

"It's not really news to me that we change some things out," veteran pro dancer Witney Carson told Today ahead of Season 35, which featured a pretty big format change right at the start. "We stay to the core of what the show is, which is competing and dancing. All of that stays the same." And yet, the criticism continues to roll in. So far, Season 35 of "Dancing with the Stars" has had its fair share of memorable moments, but it hasn't all been a ball. So, let's take a look at fans' biggest complaints about the 2026 season so far.

With 16 dancers and 16 stars being put into 16 couples, ABC's premier dancing competition has its work cut out for it to get the pairings just right. It should come as no surprise that there's a lot that goes into how they really pick partners on "Dancing With The Stars." However, in Season 35, it's been suggested that there are some particularly unfair pairings.

"There's some eyerolling going on because there are partners who they know are already going to be fan favorites," one unnamed source close to the production claimed to the Daily Mail. "Ciara [Miller] after what she went through with Amanda [Batula] and West [Wilson] on 'Summer House,' Maura [Higgins] since people felt bad Rob [Rausch] robbed her from winning 'The Traitors.'" (It is worth noting that, in a surprising turn of events, Miller was eliminated from the competition in Week 4.) Likewise, there's also been rumblings of discontent regarding the judges' connections to some of the contestants; Jenna Dewan is close pals with judge Derek Hough.

There's also been some discourse about trends regarding the pros' partners' ages. As Julianne Hough pointed out on a Season 35 episode, Jackson Olson is Emma Slater's first 20-something-year-old partner; the average age of her partners over the previous 17 seasons is 49. "[It] really does highlight how unfair these pairings are huh," wrote one X user. "[N]ot to mention the fact that all of [Mark Ballas'] partners have never been over their 30's #noticing," replied another user underneath the X post. What's more, there's been chatter about "DWTS" veteran power couple Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy — who have five Mirrorball Trophies between them — getting paired with pro dancers Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Dewan (more on that later).

There have been some shocking eliminations in "Dancing With The Stars" history. However, the double elimination that rocked the Season 35 premiere was, as far as some fans were concerned, a bridge too far.

Indeed, "Dancing with the Stars" chose to throw in a major twist during its two-night premiere for Season 35. The male stars would perform the first night, and the female stars the second night. A handful of days before the season kicked off, it was announced that one couple would be sent home on night one and a second on night two.That meant they'd get axed before they got a chance to get their sea legs (or should we say ballroom legs?), get more than one spray tan, or don more than two sequined costume. Alas, content creator of "Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" fame Conner Leavitt and reality star Sarah Jane Nader were given the boot.

"1st night [elimination] is so stupid imo," said one user on Reddit about the dual eliminations. "[W]hat's the point of bringing someone on to judge and critique their dancing and then not giving them a shot to do anything with the critiques?" Another user on the thread added, "That is so dumb. Even having them perform on different nights is so stupid to me." 

On "Dancing with the Stars," it can be fun to watch a celebrity with limited to no prior dance experience continue to unlock a new skill and showcase their journey on the ballroom floor. However, as far as some fans are concerned, there's a line. 

On Season 35, Guillermo Rodriguez of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" fame has become a polarizing competitor. Of course, he's a hilarious and charming TV personality, but his ballroom performances have fallen flat. Week after week, the judges give him pretty paltry scores and lukewarm feedback, but he continues to rake in the fan votes. "[I]f you're still voting for guillermo this far into the show you have to burn your phone and stop because he can't dance and it isn't fair to the people who actually can," pleaded one X user. Even legendary shock jock Howard Stern has strong feelings about Rodriguez's run on the show, telling Kimmel on an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," "I don't think we should vote for Guillermo. ... The guy can't dance to save his life." 

On the October 7, 2026 episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," the titular host called out everyone who's up in arms about Rodriguez's stint on the dance show, noting all of the hard work his talk show sidekick has put into the competition. "I'll tell ya, if that bothers you, if that upsets you, if you feel the need to attack him online, to begrudge him even a drop for the gallons of joy he's bringing to America right now, then maybe you need to get out of your little hate caves and find some friends," Kimmel said. See how Rodriguez stacks up against the person who earned the lowest score ever on "Dancing With The Stars."

Has pro dancer Britt Stewart gotten a fair shake on "Dancing with the Stars" over the years? Some fans don't think so. "I really thought that this season would've been her season and to actually make it to at least Halloween for once but I guess not," wrote one user on Reddit. "I'm devastated for her, and I'm seeing a lot of hate towards other contestants such as Witney and Guillermo which Britt would not want and also it solves nothing," added another user on Reddit. "Put this energy into lifting Britt. There's a bigger issue here and Britt is a victim once again."

Stewart, who is the first Black female pro to join the show, has never made it to a season finale, and while it seemed like the Hanson fandom might help propel her and Taylor to the finale this time around, it didn't happen. After their Week 3 elimination, there were rumblings and rumors that Stewart has hit her breaking point with the show and supposedly feels like she's never paired with someone who has a chance to make it to the end. Whatever the case, Stewart kept it positive in an Instagram post. "Taylor, thank you for showing up fully and authentically," she wrote. "What we created together was bigger than how many weeks we were given to create it." 

Even Stewart's costars are rooting for her to finally make it to a finale. "Knowing Britt and loving Britt, I just wanna see her do a freestyle," pro Sharna Burgess told Entertainment Weekly. "I just want to see Britt, next season, get what our fans call a ringer, and we see her get to the end so we can have a Britt freestyle."

There are many "Dancing With The Stars" winners who are unrecognizable without makeup. However, when it comes to the stars of Season 35, there are a handful that fans wouldn't recognize with or without makeup. Of course, there are some genuine stars and household names on the roster. Alas, there are other contestants who are a little more... niche. Some fans raised an eyebrow at the inclusion of reality TV personality Connor Leavitt, reality TV personality Sarah Jane Nader, and comedian/podcaster Connor Wood, for example.

In previous seasons, the cast list has been chock-full of big names. Be it Kim Kardashian way back in 2008, Zendaya in 2013's season 16, or even TikTok superstar Alix Earle in Season 34. Yet, Season 35's cast list has earned many complaints due to the lack of star quality. "With how popular the show has gotten, I was excited if that opened new avenues for interesting names," wrote one particularly unimpressed fan on Reddit. "The leaked cast is genuinely one of the worst and laziest casts I've seen," they added. "What happened? I really thought the show would have some leverage in casting now." Another Redditor noted, "I think it's the wrong approach because they're replicating [previous success] superficially ... Even [Earle] felt different to the current social media influencers all over the cast from reality shows."

As we've noted, with 35 seasons under their belt, you'd think "Dancing with the Stars" would have the voting systems down pat. Even though the show's evolved from landlines to mobiles to purely digitized voting, they've had plenty of time to perfect it.

However, during the Season 35 premiere, many fans might have been better off trying to cast their votes via carrier pigeon than using the internet. Early on in the show, hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro told audiences that only text-based voting was working and the online system was down. And though some votes went through before the system crashed, all online votes that had been collected that night would be voided. It was a text-only affair. Heck, we might have to add this debacle to the seven worst moments ever on "Dancing with the Stars."

"[N]ot them saying they're throwing out online voting AFTER I ALREADY SUBMITTED MINE ONLINE since my phone isn't connected right now," wrote one frustrated user on X. "If online voting is back, they need to give the men another fair round," argued another fan on X. 

It's one thing to go on "Dancing with the Stars" decades after taking a few dance classes as a kid. It's another game when you go on "DWTS" after building a career as a professional backup dancer. Sure, ballroom dance requires a totally different set of skills, but you definitely have a leg up. This brings us to actors Jenna Dewan and Harry Shum Jr. from Season 35 of "Dancing with the Stars,"both of whom have professional dance experience.

For starters, Dewan starred as Nora Clark in the original "Step Up" movie, worked as a backup dancer on a Janet Jackson tour in the early 2000s, and even hosted the TV dance competition "World of Dance." Shum, meanwhile, has been a backup dancer for Beyoncé and Mariah Carey, danced on "Glee," and even danced in an iPod commercial. "[I] don't go here but putting professional dancers like jenna dewan and harry shum jr kinda defeats the purpose of dwts no?" asked one user on X. "I'm sorry, I don't watch this show so can someone please explain to me how Jenna Dewan, who has worked as a professional dancer, judged dance competitions, and starred in one of the most famous dance movies ever, is allowed to compete?" questioned another X user. "She's going to destroy everyone."

Following the season premiere, Shum told E! News that he believes there's more to doing well on the show than just being a trained dancer. "I think a lot of people who had dance backgrounds don't make it very far," he said. "It's beyond just dancing. It's like storytelling — who you are, your personality, your connection between, not just your partner, but with the audience."

According to fans of "Dancing with the Stars", some celebs are too professional and some pros are not professional enough. In August 2026, it was revealed that Adele Zaikman had won "Dancing with the Stars: Next Pro," a competition that finds — you guessed it — the next pro who will appear on the main show. But some fans believe she still is too green to step up to the bigger stage.

"Adele is not fully ready to be a pro," wrote one user on Reddit, acknowledging that their take is probably an unpopular one. "Idk but to me all ['Next Pro'] members were not ready and even the winner: Adele [was] literally tested with dance styles that she's pretty good at like Samba," they added. Some users agreed, suggesting that other "Next Pro" contestants would have done a better job and that Zaikman's choreography wasn't up to scratch. "Still think Allen [Genkin] was the full package. And I like Adele and sad she is a week one out," said one commenter on the thread. While others were more sympathetic to Zaikman, recalling that first-year professionals often don't hit the ground running or the dance floor shimmying.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Zaikman admitted her knees were shaking from nerves, not some '50s style choreo. "I'm nervous in a good way. I'm excited, I'm thrilled," she told the outlet. "I'm like, Oh my God, all over the place ... I'm all of these emotions." So, hopefully she feels more confident next season, and fans' doubts can be put to bed.

"I am so frustrated! I am a life long fan who just moved from the East coast to Mountain Time and I cannot watch or vote live," vented one frustrated "Dancing with the Stars" fan on Reddit. "I want to vote based on talent and growth, not blindly!" An X user was even more angry, writing, "[I'm] in mountain time so i finish dwts an hour behind east coast peeps and all i can f****** say is IM P***** THE F*** OFF."

Although time zones (obviously) long predate "Dancing with the Stars" Season 35, the issue remains a gripe for voting fans on the West Coast or across the border in Canada who are forced to vote based on their gut rather than the standard of each week's dance. While some online have circumvented time zone issues via VPNs and tactically tracking TikToks that post videos of the dances as soon as they hit screens across the country, both solutions come with a price, whether financial or in image quality.

Given advances in streaming, and the show being broadcast on Disney+, we can understand that fans feel frustrated that they can't all watch it at the same time. But maybe it doesn't really matter? Here's how the "Dancing With The Stars" producers affect who wins.

After "Dancing with the Stars" Season 35 Week 3, Erik Ostberg, who plays for the Banana Ball Championship League team the Loco Beach Coconuts, posted a TikTok of himself reenacting Guillermo Rodriguez's routine. Things took a turn when current "DWTS" contestant and fellow Banana Ball player Jackson Olson took to the comments section and wrote, "seriously how did you do this better than him with 2 hours of rehearsal." Cue the outrage.

"I feel like people are very protective of Guillermo because he's literally the sweetest man," said one X user. "[A]nd even if Jackson was joking about it, like dude, poke fun at someone your own age, not a 55-year-old man." In fact, some even thought the Savannah Banana was being a bully. "Jackson could have made a cute comment but instead he decides to leave a mean comment about Guillermo," wrote another user on X. "Nobody likes bullies." Per Pop Base (via X), according to crypto-betting company Polymarket, Jackson's chances of getting cut increased from 20% to over 60% in the days after his TikTok comment.

So, was there beef here? Well, not really. A matter of days after Olson posted his tongue-in-cheek comment, he and Rodriguez teamed up for an Instagram post where the pair danced together in sunglasses. "[F]rom the bottom of my heart I am so sorry about my comment I made the other day and that it caused this much negativity," wrote Olsen in the caption. "I love this guy."