‘No chance’: DWTS co-host Alfonso Ribeiro denies show is rigged after Hayes Grier’s claims
He stated the fact the show isn't rigged as 'basic logic'
Alfonso Ribeiro has shut down claims that Dancing with the Stars is “rigged”, after former contestant Alexa PenaVega brought up the theory on her podcast.
Alexa, best known for starring in Spy Kids, competed on season 21 of the show in 2015, alongside Hayes Grier. On a recent episode of her LexLos podcast, she remembered a conversation backstage in which Hayes suggested the competition might be fixed.
“Hayes is only like 15 years old, he’s the sweetest kid,” she said. “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.’”
Alexa said she agreed he was likely getting the most votes, thanks to his huge social media following. “I’m like, ‘You know, I know you have more votes than anybody here because of the millions and millions of followers. 100 percent, it’s so easy for them to send in a little text.’”
Alfonso, who co-hosts the show, wasn’t having it. Commenting on a social media clip of Alexa’s story, he wrote: “No chance. We want everyone who’s popular to stay on. It’s basic logic.”
Alexa then replied, pointing out that the clip “picks up mid story”, and that she was “telling a story about sweet Hayes.”
On the podcast, she also shared her own views on how the voting works. “This is what I always tell people, I think the votes matter, I do, but the show’s also produced. 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,” she said.
“The people like texting in and voting, that matters. The judges, what they say, that matters,” she added, while also saying producers “know their demographic. They know the story they want to tell.”
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