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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsDancing with the Stars still asks two different groups to judge the same contest: the judges score the dancing, while viewers vote for the contestants they want to keep. When those preferences diverge, the show can produce results that feel wrong to fans of either standard. Season 34 made that tension visible again—but the available evidence does not show that the system is unfair or that its winner was undeserving.
The show has two measures of success
The format’s central tension is not simply that judges and viewers sometimes disagree. It is that their judgments answer different questions. Judges evaluate a performance; audience votes express preference for a couple. A contestant can therefore fare poorly on the leaderboard yet remain popular enough with viewers to continue, while a technically stronger dancer may be less effective at attracting votes.
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In the season 34 finale, the result combined live viewer votes with judges’ scores. ABC News described a five-couple finale with three rounds: a judge-guided dance, an instant dance and a freestyle. The resulting winner was Robert Irwin with Witney Carson. ABC News’ season 34 finale report lists Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy in second place, Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa in third, Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach in fourth, and Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten in fifth.
Season 34 put the disagreement on display
TV Insider reported on October 8, 2025, that Hilaria Baldwin left despite receiving high judges’ scores, while Andy Richter continued after placing near the bottom of the leaderboard. The juxtaposition prompted viewers to ask how fan votes compared with judges’ scores; one commenter described the show as “a popularity contest, not a dance competition.” Those remarks illustrate a concern, not a representative measure of what the audience thinks. TV Insider’s report also attributes a 50/50 split explanation to former pro Lindsay Arnold in a 2023 video. That is Arnold’s account, not a confirmed season 34 rulebook spelling out how voting and scores were combined in every episode.
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The distinction matters: a reported split does not by itself reveal how a particular vote total translated into a result. The sources cited here establish that the finale combined judges’ scores and live viewer votes, but do not independently disclose the full season 34 formula for every week.
Judging can be disputed, too
Not every complaint is about audience voting. TV Insider also reported criticism of Carrie Ann Inaba’s treatment of lifts and movement: viewers perceived her as overlooking a lift issue in Robert Irwin’s performance, then docking a point from Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas over hops. Leavitt was eliminated after the semifinal. This is reporting about perceived inconsistency, not proof of bias or misconduct; dance critiques involve judgment calls.
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Season 34 finalist Jordan Chiles defended that discretion in a November 19, 2025 interview with TV Insider: “The judges are human beings and they have their own opinions the same way that everyone else does.” Professional dancer and finalist Ezra Sosa made a related point: “Everyone’s going to have a different opinion on every single dance.” His observation captures why the judging can be both polarizing and part of the show’s appeal. TV Insider’s report describes both the criticism and the finalists’ responses.
Participation is real, but the available figures need context
ABC and Disney reported more than 32 million votes for the season 33 finale, along with an audience of 7.95 million total viewers and a 1.55 rating among Adults 18–49. Those figures establish the scale of participation and viewership for that finale only; they do not reveal how votes shaped any season 34 outcome. The companies’ season 33 finale report does not provide a season 34 vote total or audience figure.
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That boundary is important when arguments about the current season rely on older numbers. A large vote count does not prove that voting is unfair, nor does it show whether online complaints reflect the broader audience. The season 34 reporting establishes that viewers raised questions after specific results; it does not measure how widespread or representative those reactions were.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What a fix would have to balance
There is no evidence here that one alternative format would produce a better contest. Any change would involve trade-offs between dance merit, audience participation, transparency and suspense. A system that gives judges more power might better protect technical assessment, but reduce viewers’ influence. A system that prioritizes audience votes would preserve that influence, while making performance scores less decisive. Publishing a clearer explanation of how scores and votes combine could help viewers understand the outcome without changing who has a say.
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- Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC
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- Video Run Time: 51 minutes
That last option addresses confusion rather than disagreement. No explanation can guarantee that judges and viewers will value the same performance—or that a result will satisfy both groups. Season 34 shows the recurring friction built into the format: the show wants to be a dance competition and a viewer-driven contest at once. Its “biggest problem,” then, is less a proven flaw in the arithmetic than the expectation that two different kinds of judgment will always point to the same winner.
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