Bobby Bones caused quite a stir back in 2018, when he won Dancing with the Stars Season 27, despite being the lowest-scoring finalist. Well, the viewers who thought Milo Manheim, Evanna Lynch or literally anyone else was more deserving of the title aren’t going to love this, as the radio show host admitted he “cheated” to take home the Mirrorball Trophy.
A new season of DWTS premieres on the 2025 TV schedule Tuesday, September 16, so maybe some of the Season 34 cast can take a page from Bobby Bones’ book to help tip the scales in their favor. The former American Idol mentor went on the Trading Secrets podcast, where he revealed how he gamed the system, per se, to get more training time. He said:
I cheated, in the way of, they give you a limited amount of time with your partner. Like, four hours a day, they say.
Bobby Bones was only given a certain number of hours with his professional partner Sharna Burgess, but he apparently didn’t stop dancing when their time was up. He continued:
So we would do our four, I would record the session and then go by myself and rent a studio myself and train myself. Like, illegally spent time over … because I was so far behind everybody else.
Bobby Bones made no secret of the fact that he had no dance experience before going on the show, so many Dancing with the Stars fans were surprised that he kept advancing in the competition — especially when other contestants with perfect scores were eliminated. This caused the radio personality to receive quite a bit of hate, especially when he won the Mirrorball Trophy (presumably) for his personality and popularity rather than his skills on the ballroom floor.
I suppose this did technically count as cheating, if DWTS said they weren’t allowed to go over their allotted time in the studio, but it’s not like they can dictate how he spends the other 20 hours of his day. If he rented a studio with his own money and rehearsed on his own time to try to get better, that doesn’t scream “illegal” to me.
However, I definitely understand the frustration from fans of seeing arguably better dancers lose out because Bobby Bones won the popular vote.
Will any of the Season 34 dancers experience the same thing? Alix Earle has expressed nervousness about dancing on live TV, despite her comfort in front of the camera on social media. Meanwhile, Danielle Fishel finally said yes to DWTS for the opportunity to do something new and fun, with her stint on the show coming just over a year after she revealed her cancer diagnosis.
Last year’s winner Joey Graziadei also made a prediction for his “dark horse” winner, saying Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach might take it home. As we know from the former Bachelor and Bobby Bones’ showings, it’s often not the most talented dancer who wins but the one who puts in the effort and has a good time. Maybe just try to keep it all within the rules.
Dancing with the Stars Season 34 premieres at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, September 16, on ABC and live with a Disney+ subscription.
