Former DWTS Contestants Who’ve Criticized the Show

While some stars really enjoyed their time on Dancing With the Stars, others have been vocal about their less-than-ideal experience.

After appearing on season 13 of the ABC dancing competition in 2011, Hope Solo alleged that her partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, was aggressive during rehearsals.

“He was often nasty, swearing at me and being harshly critical,” the Olympian wrote in her memoir, Solo: A Memoir of Hope, in 2012. “He manhandled me in rehearsals from the start, pushing me, whacking my stomach, bending my arms roughly. 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.”

In response to Solo’s claims, Chmerkovskiy posted a cryptic tweet.

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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. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, I agree to the Terms and […]

“Always hated hypocrites and liars, but when someone is both and an opportunist, I just feel bad for them,” he wrote via X. “Can’t win at someone’s expense.”

Keep scrolling to see more stars who have been critical of their time on DWTS:

Wendy Williams

After appearing on season 12 of DWTS in 2011, Wendy Williams claimed that ABC scripts “what they want” everyone to say.

“I know this as a participant, OK,” she explained on The Wendy Williams Show in April 2014. “I’m reading, I’m like, ‘Wait, this is not how I’m feeling today, and I wouldn’t say that. I’m not going to say that,’ I would tell the camera.”

Although Williams was eliminated in week 2, she alleged that if she had given “a little bit more sassafras” she would’ve been on the show longer.

“Because that’s how they were writing my script, to be Angry Black Woman,” she claimed before addressing then-contestant NeNe Leakes. “And all I’m going to say, NeNe, don’t let them pull you out of your character. … Don’t let them do that to you.”

Hope Solo

In her 2012 memoir, Solo: A Memoir of Hope, Hope Solo claimed that her DWTS season 13 partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, was physically and verbally aggressive during rehearsals.

Solo wrote that Chmerkovskiy “manhandled” her “from the start” during practice.

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“I just thought that was just how it went — how dancers worked with each other,” she shared. “But it kept getting worse. 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.”

The Olympian claimed that DWTS gave her the opportunity to continue the show with a new partner after the incident, but she “didn’t want to end Maks’ career” or look like a “prima donna.”

Chmerkovskiy later denied the claims, writing via X that he has “always hated hypocrites and liars, but when someone is both and an opportunist, I just feel bad for them.”

“Can’t win at someone’s expense,” he wrote in August 2012.

Mischa Barton

The O.C. alum — who appeared on season 22 of DWTS in 2016 — compared being on the ABC show to being in The Hunger Games.

“I had no idea it would be so bad,” Mischa Barton said in an interview with the Ringer in December 2016. “I got told off by my dancer. I was supposed to control the costumes — I was told that I could do the design aspect of it, that’s kind of the reason why I agreed to do it. That didn’t happen.”

Barton noted that “it wasn’t collaborative like a choreographer on a film set,” which she was “so confused” by.

“It was like The Hunger Games. It was all a popularity contest,” she explained to the outlet. “It was awful. I was so glad to get kicked off.”

Anna Delvey

After appearing on season 33 of DWTS in 2024, convicted felon Anna Delvey accused the show of using her “to drive up the ratings.”

“I feel that the show so obviously used me to drive up the ratings, that they never had any plans to give me any chance to grow and only cared about exploiting me for attention,” she shared in a September 2024 interview with NBC News. “It was predatory of them to try [to] make me feel inadequate and stupid, all while I did get progressively better, yet they chose to disregard that.”

Delvey added that she “felt like I was never really given a fair chance by the viewers or some of the judges, given their nonsensical scoring.”

“[It’s] supposed to be a dance competition and not a popularity contest,” she explained to the outlet.

Corey Feldman

After he was eliminated on season 34 of DWTS in 2025, Corey Feldman claimed DWTS has a “toxic” behind-the-scenes culture.

“There was a lot of stupidity in the mudslinging that went on behind the scenes,” the actor claimed in a preview for an upcoming episode of the Guvery’s Law radio show, obtained by The Daily Mail in November 2025. “Actually, there everything was great. But the behind-the-scenes drama and BS that people throw around the show, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s the worst, like, most toxic.”

Us Weekly reached out to ABC at the time regarding Feldman’s claims.