‘DWTS’ Pros Reportedly Met With Producers to Squash Alleged ‘Favoritism’ of Dancers

The Dancing with the Stars cast is putting their foot down.

The professional dancers featured on the popular ABC competition series have reportedly met with producers in an attempt to stop judges’ alleged “bias” and “favoritism,” according to The U.S. Sun.

“There are a handful of pros, both some who are still on the show and some who have already been eliminated, who are fed up with how they are being treated,” a source told the publication about the judging panel, which consists of Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli.

“Some feel the judges have been harsher than they needed to be to them, which not only impacts scores, but it also impacts how the at-home viewers see the season,” they went on.

“It impacts who they vote for and who they want to watch week by week,” the source said, claiming that dancers such as Pasha Pashkov and Alan Bersten have often felt that the panel “have been too harsh on them.”

The source noted that multiple cast members have “stepped up to meet with production over the judges’ bias and are demanding some kind of change and more fairness moving forward.”

“What that change looks like is still to be determined, but they at least got the conversation rolling,” they said.

Former DWTS pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy even spoke out against the show, specifically judge Inaba last year over feeling like her feedback is not positive enough.

The 44-year-old told The U.S. Sun in October 2024: “I’m a fan of constructive criticism. I’m a fan of criticism that has a foundation that I can take and then do better. Right. There’s none of that.”

“You know, I don’t know what Carrie Ann is saying at all,” he added.