The winner of Dancing With the Stars is selected based on votes from the judges and votes from viewers, which has led to some quite controversial rulings over the years. There have been several seasons where the results led to an outcry on social media from fans who felt the wrong winner was chosen.
Perhaps the most controversial of all seasons was when Bobby Bones was declared the winner over Milo Manheim in Season 27. The judges applauded Bones for being what the show is all about — taking someone with absolutely no dance experience and seeing them improve each week. However, his dance skills were clearly not up to par with some of the other contestants, including Manheim.
Although Bones received lower scores than many of his fellow competitors in the final weeks of competition, the support he got from viewers pushed him through week after week, to the point where he was named the winner of the competition. Many viewers were outraged on Manheim’s behalf.
Back in Season 4, Apolo Anton Ohno won the show, edging out runner-up Joey Fatone. Both guys had impressive performances every week, but fans were particularly taken by Ohno’s skills, considering he had much less experience than Fatone, who spent years dancing in a boy band. But was Ohno actually the better dancer? Well, that’s the controversy.
Shawn Johnson was obviously a deserving winner in Season 8, but Gilles Marini definitely gave her a run for her money. Viewers were very torn when it came to deciding between these two. In Season 16, Zendaya lost to Kellie Pickler, and even she said in January 2025, 12 years later, that she’s still “harboring a little animosity” about it.
“I was only 16 years old, and it was highly stressful,” the Euphoria star told W magazine. “Being on live television every week? It’s so scary. I took it very seriously, which, in retrospect, I wish I didn’t. I wish I’d enjoyed it a little bit more and just was like, ‘Eh, whatever.’ You know what I mean? But I was stressing myself out. I really went through it on that.”
The following year, Corbin Bleu was the runner-up behind Amber Riley. It was definitely a close race, but all season long, the judges received backlash for how hard the viewers felt they were being on Bleu. Obviously, he had a lot of past dance experience, so he was held to a higher standard, but some of the commentary and scores rubbed fans the wrong way.
Season 20 featured Rumer Willis beating Riker Lynch to take the title. They excelled in different areas of dance, so it was definitely a toss-up, but there are still Lynch voters riding for him to this day.
Of these, which runner-up do you think was most deserving of winning their season? Vote in the poll below and share your thoughts in the comments section!
