Alfonso Ribeiro Reacts to Alexa PenaVega’s Quip That DWTS Is Rigged

Oct 26, 2026 - 23:05

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Alfonso Ribeiro Reacts to Alexa PenaVega’s Quip That DWTS Is Rigged

Val Chmerkovskiy Officially Returns to 'Dancing With the Stars' After Suspension

Alfonso Ribeiro isn’t dancing around this issue.

In fact, the Dancing With the Stars host, and season 19 former winner, was quick to weigh in after season 21 competitor Alexa PenaVega recalled a conversation with Hayes Grierin which he implied the series was rigged after landing in the bottom three.

“Hayes is only like 15 years old, he's the sweetest kid,” Alexa said during the Oct. 22 episode of her and husband Carlos PenaVega’s LexLos podcast. “He's back there with us. And I just remember all of us, like one night after being in the bottom and he's just like, ‘Man, you know what? I think this show is rigged. I have more votes than anybody.’”

The comment made Alexa think about the format of the show. After all, Hayes was a hugely popular social media figure during season 21, which aired on ABC in 2015.

“I'm like, ‘You know, I know you have more votes than anybody here,’” Alexa recalled thinking, “’because of the millions and millions of followers. 100 percent, it's so easy for them to send in a little text.’”

As for Alfonso, when a clip of Alexa’s story was shared to social media, he didn’t want fans to get off on the wrong foot with their assumptions that audience votes weren’t calculated into who goes home every week.

“No chance,” he commented. “We want everyone who’s popular to stay on. It’s basic logic.”

Carlos & Alexa/TikTok

In response, Alexa admitted the TikTok didn’t include the full context. “The clip picks up mid-story,” she wrote back. “Watch the whole clip and episode. I’m telling a story about sweet Hayes.”

While Hayes may have worried that his votes weren’t being applied, Alexa suggested that there are factors beyond the audience participation that go into the show.

“This is what I always tell people, I think the votes matter, I do, but the show's also produced,” the Spy Kids alum continued on the episode. “It even tells you a disclaimer, like the producers get to choose at the end of the day who wins. All of it goes into account.”

“The people like texting in and voting, that matters. The judges, what they say, that matters,” she added, before noting of producers, “But also, they know their demographic. They know the story they want to tell.”

Hubert Vestil/Getty Images & Disney/Eric McCandless

This idea, however, that Dancing With the Stars is rigged is not a new accusation. In fact, Alfonso is not the first crew member to clap back at such claims.

Last year, BBC Studios’ President of Unscripted TV and DWTS producer Ryan O’Dowd confirmed the series never has, and never would, manipulate votes.

“The show really needs to be credible,” he explained to Deadline in May 2025. “It needs to allow the viewers to have a voice and to really be the voice of who deserves to win. So, we have never, nor would we ever want to manipulate that in any way.”

For more behind-the-scenes DWTS secrets that will have you dancing on air, read on.

ABC/Paula Lobo

How Much Do the Celebrities Get Paid to Be on Dancing With the Stars?

Citing multiple sources, Variety reported in 2019 that Dancing With the Stars contestants make $125,000 for the rehearsal period and first two weeks of the show. If they progress beyond that point, the outlet continued, they earn more money each week. At the time, sources told the publication stars could earn a maximum of $295,000.

However, Bobby Bones said he made more than this when he won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018.

"That show pays OK," the radio personality said on a Sept. 2025 episode of Jason Tartick's podcast Trading Secrets. "Like, first episode, no money. Second episode, $10,000. I think it's like, $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000. It ends up being $50,000 an episode if you last."

Also receiving a base salary of around $110,000, Bones continued, "I ended up making close to $400,000 from that show."

ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.

Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images

What Do the Pros Get Paid on Dancing With the Stars?

Similarly, little has been shared publicly about how much the pros get paid. But as with the contestants, it seems like the longer they're on the show, the more money they can make.

But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they're not leaving the ballroom empty-handed.

"You're guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks," Jenna Johnson said on a June 2025 episode of Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester's podcast The Morning After. "I think there's different contracts though. I can't speak for everybody."

Disney/Eric McCandless

Do Pros Get Paid More If They Win Dancing With the Stars?

Apparently not.

While Johnson—who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, as well as season 33 with The Bachelor's Joey Graziadei—says the pros don't get a larger paycheck if they take home what is now called the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, she noted there's still an incentive to make it to the finale (besides bragging rights, of course).

"If you make it all the way to the end, you're getting paid the whole season, which is amazing, and you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale," she explained on The Morning After. "If you win, it's not like you win a $1 million and split it with your partner. You're just getting a cute trophy together."

Instagram / Dancing With the Stars

Do the Troupe Members Get Paid as Much as the Pros on Dancing With the Stars?

That doesn't appear to be the case.

On a 2022 episode of Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold recalled how her salary was cut "more than in half" when she was demoted from pro to troupe member.

Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images

How Are Pros and Celebrities Paired Together on Dancing With the Stars?

The pros get little input when it comes to being matched with a celebrity.

"You get no say," Lindsay said on a May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers' Hot Smart Rich podcast. "It's very much just, 'Here's your partner. Make it work.'"

In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute.

"They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live," Jenna said on The Morning After. "They want that genuine reaction. So I think people always think we know who we have and we're keeping it a secret. Absolutely not. They do not tell us. They really don't even want us to know the cast. It gets leaked a lot, but they want it very hush-hush until you walk in and meet your partner."

As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches?

"It's based on height, build and personality and compatibility," former showrunner Rob Wade told E! News in 2015. "We don't pair people who aren't going to get on. It's too intense. It's not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn't do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don't want to see two people who don't like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn't get on so well."

Disney/Eric McCandless

How Often Do the Pros and Celebrities Practice on Dancing With the Stars?

Put simply, a lot.

"Every day we have four-hour rehearsals," Rylee Arnold, who was partnered with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik on season 33, shared on a September 2024 episode of the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis. "It’s either 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m."

But the work doesn't stop once the rehearsal wraps. Rylee noted she might then meet with producers or the creative team, work on choreography or study dance videos.

"Literally my whole life is devoted to it," she continued, "but it's my passion and it's what I love. So, it makes me so happy."

Indeed, it's a no-days-off kind of gig.

"We have our show day on Tuesday and then it's Wednesday to Sunday, straight rehearsals," Rylee added. "And then Monday we have camera blocking and then Tuesday's show day again."

Instagram / Emma Slater

Do the Pros Get to Pick the Songs Each Week for Their Dance With Their Celebrity Partner?

"Mostly yes," Emma Slater and Britt Stewart revealed in a September 2025 Instagram video, "though it's a collaboration with producers."

Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images

What's the Process Like for Making the Costumes for Dancing With the Stars?

If you thought the quickstep was fast, just wait until you hear about the pace of the costume department.

"We meet with the set and lighting designers, dancers and talent and create a story [for each pair]," costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner told TV Insider back in 2017. "Then we sketch out ideas. We have five days, max, to make all the outfits. That’s half a day per costume, not including all the rhinestones. The fitting and trimming we do later. We have about 20 people in our department and then we have a separate tailor shop. It’s a big enterprise."

In fact, costume designer Steven Norman Lee said pairs usually try on their costumes for the first time just hours before showtime. And while the department "might use a pair of pants again for the boys," he continued, everything is generally made custom each week.

As Gschwendtner added, "We do reuse things for group numbers or promo shoots, but not for the competition. We don’t reuse things unless there’s a specific reason to do so. We try to keep everybody fresh and new in something different every week, so it stays interesting."

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