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Dancing With the Stars Voting Controversy: Is Competition Rigged?
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by Amy Judd | November 20, 2010 at 04:39 pm
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Bristol Palin Making it to the Final of Dancing With the Stars Has Caused Some to Question if the Contest is Rigged
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Bristol Palin & Mark Ballas - Viennese Waltz - Week 7 (200th episode)
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Bristol Palin made it to the final of Dancing With the Stars, and producers are now responding to critics saying the contest is rigged, saying that Bristol deserves to be in the final.
"She deserves it," DWTS executive producer Conrad Green tells PEOPLE. "And a significant portion of our viewing audience believes that, too."
Even though Bristol has received fairly low scores from the judges throughout the season, the audience has responded well to her and producers are saying there is nothing wrong with the show's voting system and it is not rigged.
On one conservative Web site, Freerepublic.com, some of the site's 300,000 registered users have recently used discussion threads to encourage votes for Bristol. One asked users to "make liberal heads explode and vote for Bristol" on Nov. 8 to advance her to the semi-finals.
But Jim Robinson, who founded the site, says there is no larger plan at work. "An organized conspiracy? I sincerely doubt that," he told PEOPLE. "The Tea Party's not that organized!"
The Broadcast Standards Team oversees all the votes, whether they are by texting, e-mail or phone and the Team is independent of the show to make sure there is no bias involved.
Just because Bristol did not received great judges' scores, does not mean she could not reach the final and Green said that the show has no plans to change its current voting system.
"Everyone is having a go at our system, but unlike American Idol, our professional judges count for half of the total for each couple, so there's already a built-in attempt to make the dance quality matter," Green says. "We set the rules down and this is the game and if this is how it turns out, then this is how it turns out. I think it's absolutely fair."
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (5)
at 16:17 on November 22nd, 2010
how can you possibly say that bristol palin has more fans than brandy?!! that is absurd. the competition is rigged because i was unable to vote for brandy and maxim. i tried calling and i wasn't allowed through. this show has always kept people in it because they were entertaining not because of dance talent. Look at cloris leachmen: she overstayed on dancing for the pure fact that she was "entertaining". after sabrina bryan and mark ballas were voted off i said i wasnt watching anymore but i gave it a second chance and now that maxs and brandy left i am officially done with this show.
at 20:05 on November 22nd, 2010
I have been trying to vote for 1hour 45minutes on DWTS but no luck. I'll try again tomorrow A.M. This is very annoying.
at 21:51 on November 22nd, 2010
Rupert Murdoch and his Channel 5 confuse opinion for news. He is a big supporter of Sarah Palin; and Bruno slipped on one occasion where he mentioned Murdoch's name after his uncalled for criticism of a contestant. So is it any surprise that the judges, on the payroll, score Palin high. Len needs to be ashamed of his scores; and the other two aren't far behind. I will no longer watch this contrived program!
at 05:17 on November 23rd, 2010
Despite repeated efforts to cast a vote on DWTS, I was unable to get through on my cell phone, land line or computer. Lines were busy for the entire voting period and abc.com on which I have an existing sign-on would not accept my log on. It just kept saying "Processing" until the web page would go blank. Something at ABC is seriously wrong and the voting system is reprehensively flawed.
at 09:05 on November 23rd, 2010
Dancing With The Stars Well, well, well! Now, if that just ain’t dandy, They have eliminated the best dancer, Brandi, In favor of awkwardness & no rhythm, Bristol, It’s being in a war zone with an unloaded pistol. Can’t imagine no talent going to the finals, Palin, 2010, the mast has risen and slave ships are salin, Mucho hard work as you practice and you sweat, Surely the ultimate score, perfect, yeah, you bet. Three ten’s equals thirty, the highest possible yet, But, those voting from home never let you forget, The one most often in the bottom, is in the finals, Just like the voting irregularities in American Idol. I refuse to recite that word but it begins with, “R,” This latest episode reminds, still haven’t come far, Surfacing from the local church to the corner bar, Style & grace sent home, two left feet is the star? Yes, we’ve conquered the highest office but realize, Almost every talk show host & Republican despise. They hate saying the word president before his name, The problems we face were here long before he came. Whatever happened to, “talent” when declaring the best? That one special quality so now there’s no need to guess, The thing separating crème quality from milk of the rest, I mean those always getting the highest score on the test. It’s absolutely nothing against the daughter or her mama, But this show is strictly about dancing skills not, Karma, Partnered with professionals so, shouldn’t there be rules? Is not this the main reason the PGA Tour has, Q School? There are other names to use so I’ll suggest ludicrous, Ah, maybe this to emphasize the injustice, ridiculous? As our English language has many to choose but wait, How about Sara Palin, President of The United States? Even from the sanctuary pulpit be it a woman or a man, But she gives speeches from notes written on her hand, Oh my, from the bottom of the barrel straight to the top, Centuries, generation after generation, will it ever stop?