'DWTS' Voting Controversy: What Former Contestants Have Said About the Show's ‘Rigged' System
She recalled contestant Hayes Grier saying he thought the show was “rigged.”
Oct. 27 2026, Published 2:11 p.m. ET
Alexa PenaVega has revived questions about the Dancing With the Stars voting process after recalling that fellow Season 21 contestant Hayes Grier once believed the competition was "rigged."
The actress shared the story on the October 22 episode of her "LexLos" podcast with husband Carlos PenaVega, prompting DWTS co-host Alfonso Ribeiro to push back on a social media clip from the conversation.
PenaVega later stressed that the clip lacked context and that she was telling a story about Grier's reaction during their 2015 season, rather than accusing the show of manipulating its results.
PenaVega Recalls Grier’s Suspicions
Grier was 15 during the season.
PenaVega said Grier was 15 when he competed on Season 21 and recalled him questioning the results after the pair found themselves in danger of elimination.
"Man, you know what? I think this show's rigged. I have more votes than anybody," Grier allegedly told her, according to her recollection.
PenaVega said she believed Grier had a large voting base because of his millions of social media followers. Grier and professional partner Emma Slater were ultimately eliminated during Week 7, becoming the sixth couple eliminated that season.
The former contestant also made clear that she believes viewer votes do matter.
Her comments about the show being produced have since been widely interpreted as questioning how much influence audience voting has compared with other elements of the competition.
Ribeiro Pushes Back
Alfonso Ribeiro, a former champion and co-host, rejected the rigging claim.
Ribeiro, who won Season 19 before becoming a DWTS co-host, responded after the shortened clip circulated online.
"No chance. We want everyone who's popular to stay on. It's basic logic," he wrote in the comments.
PenaVega then clarified that the clip "picks up mid story" and urged viewers to watch the full podcast episode because she was recounting a story about Grier.
The exchange does not establish that DWTS results are manipulated. Instead, it has renewed discussion about a voting system that combines judges' rankings with public support.
How The Voting System Works
PenaVega said Grier believed he had strong fan support.
The show's voting process is more specific than simply adding up judges' scores and raw audience votes.
Executive producer and showrunner Conrad Green explained to The Hollywood Reporter in 2025 that judges' results and public voting are each converted into ranking points.
For example, with five couples remaining, the judges' top-ranked pair receives five points, the second-place couple receives four and so on.
Public votes are ranked the same way, and the two totals are combined. The couple with the lowest combined total is eliminated.
Green described the system as "50/50, effectively" and said exact voting totals are not released because doing so could affect how viewers participate.
ABC's current voting rules also allow viewers to cast up to 10 votes per couple during the live voting window.
Other Contestants Sparked Questions
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The show combines judges’ rankings with audience votes to determine eliminations.
PenaVega's story is not the only recent criticism of the show's results.
After Summer House star Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong were eliminated on October 6, 2026, despite Miller receiving her best score of the season, her friends Paige DeSorbo and Hannah Berner discussed the result on their "Giggly Squad" podcast.
DeSorbo called the show "rigged," while Berner questioned the lack of transparency surrounding the voting formula and bottom-three results.
Miller and Armstrong had received 21 out of 30 from the judges for their jazz routine, but their combined judges' ranking and viewer votes were not enough to keep them in the competition.
The recent reactions highlight why unexpected eliminations can fuel speculation. But while former contestants and viewers have questioned the system, the available explanations of the voting process do not provide evidence that Dancing With the Stars is secretly rigging its results.
