Biggest ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Controversies Through the Years

Ever since the 2005 debut of Dancing With the Stars, fans have been very vocal about what they do and don't like — and who deserves to be on the show. One of the biggest shakeups came ahead in July 2020 when Tom Bergeron announced that after hosting the show since the series premiere, he was axed from the show, along with cohost Erin Andrews. Bergeron noted that he saw his time on DWTS coming to an end ahead of being let go. “In all candor, the show that I left was not the show that I loved,” he said on an episode of the "Bob Saget’s Here for You" podcast in October 2021. "So, the end of the season that turned out to be my last season [in 2019], I kind of knew. So I took everything out of my dressing room that I really wanted. ... It was kind of obvious that we were kind of butting heads." The hosts aren't the only ones to start a controversy on the show. The judges, the pros and the celebrities have also made many headlines through the years. Scroll through the gallery below for some of the biggest moments:

In her 2012 memoir, Solo: A Memoir of Hope, Hope Solo slammed her season 13 partner, Maks Chmerkovskiy. "He manhandled me in rehearsals from the start, pushing me, whacking my stomach, bending my arms roughly,” she claimed. “One day, Maks was trying to put me in a certain position and hit my stomach so hard with his open palm that I had a red handprint there for the rest of the day.”

He adamantly denied her claims and called her "a sh--ty person" during a 2015 interview: "You can have a sh–ty life growing up, but if you’re a bad person, there’s no excuse for that."

In season 19, longtime pro Julianne Hough landed a seat at the judges' table. However, not everyone thought it was fair that she would be scoring her brother, Derek Hough.

"I think that she is wonderful, gorgeous, and talented, but I don't know if it's ethical that she is judging while her brother is competing," former pro Karina Smirnoff told Us Weekly exclusively in 2014. "I may be the most fair person in the world, but if my mom is dancing and she trips, I would be like, 'Well, I didn't see that…' That is my mother, and I will go stand by her side and support her regardless. Do I think it's fair? No. But it is a TV show. That is what we have to remember. It's not necessarily the Bible, it's just a TV show."

When radio host Bobby Bones and Sharna Burgess won season 27, it's safe to say everyone watching — and everyone involved in the show — was shocked. The pair beat out front-runner Milo Manheim, actress Evanna Lynch and model Alexis Ren. Bones later pointed out he definitely didn't win because of his dancing but simply because of his fans.

In July 2020, Dancing With the Stars fans were disappointed when Tom Bergeron tweeted that he was axed as a host ahead of season 29. ABC simultaneously announced that Erin Andrews, who joined in 2014, would also not be returning. The next day, they revealed Tyra Banks would be the new host. Fans and celebrities alike tweeted their disappointment with the ousting of the fan favorites.

When Carole Baskin was announced as part of season 29, the show was slammed with backlash due to the ongoing investigation into her first husband's disappearance.

Chigvintsev was arrested on domestic violence charges in August 2024 and was released on bail several hours later. Weeks later, his wife, Nikki Garcia, filed for divorce. After an investigation, Chigvintsev was not charged with domestic violence. His attorney Ilona Antonyan claimed in a September 2024 statement to Us Weekly that he was “not the primary aggressor.”

Delvey’s casting on season 33 of the ABC reality series ruffled feathers due to her past. Delvey was arrested in 2018 and remained in prison through her May 2019 sentencing. After being convicted on charges of grand larceny, second-degree larceny and theft of services, Delvey served a two-year sentence. She was released from prison in October 2022 after paying $10,000 bail and placed on house arrest.

Delvey, who sported an ankle monitor during her DWTS stint in September 2024, was sent home with her partner, Ezra Sosa, during week two of the series. When cohost Julianne Hough asked what Delvey was going to take away from her experience in the ballroom, the con artist replied, “Nothing.”

During an October 2025 podcast appearance, Maks Chmerkovskiy slammed Jan Ravnik's performance on Dancing With the Stars, griping, "I'm sorry, Jan has absolutely no business being a pro on [the show]. There's zero foundation technique, quality, understanding of the partnership. Bro, I'm getting emotional."

In response, Ravnik opted to take the high road. But his celeb partner, Jen Affleck, defended him on social media, writing, "We don't tolerate Jan slander in this house!"

Season 34 contestant Whitney Leavitt and her dance pro, Mark Ballas, were forced to scrap their plans to send two lucky winners to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom. In October 2025, the duo shared in a TikTok video that ABC had put a stop to the giveaway, which "really sucks," Leavitt complained.