Dancing with the Stars reportedly has a new rule for participating celebrities this year that reportedly turned some prospective contestants off from competing. It involves promoting the new DWTS season on social media.
New DWTS Rule Turns Some Stars Off
A DWTS insider told The Sun that contestants on Season 35 of the show are expected to post on social media — particularly TikTok. This new rule apparently caused multiple celebrities who were in consideration for the new season to back out of competing.
“Following last year’s uptick in votes and all the records broken from the amount of votes that came in, the producers are emphasizing social media more so this season than any other year,” the source said. “They spoke to prospective cast members about how social media would be a larger, and now mandatory, part of the process when choosing who to cast.”
They insider went on to explain that engagement from fans on social media “means more votes and more viewers,” adding, “How the contestants perform on social media has become even more important than how they perform in the ballroom.”
The source cited Season 34 star Andy Richter as an example of social media popularity giving a contestant a boost in the ballroom. Season 35 contestants and their professional partners (including Julia Stiles and Jackson Olson) have already been posting ahead of the premiere episode as they rehearse their first routines.
When Does Season 35 Premiere?
Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars is scheduled to premiere over two nights, on Tuesday, September 15, and Wednesday, September 16, at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+. Episodes will also be available for fans to stream the following day on Hulu.
Contestant Tatyana Ali and her professional partner Jan Ravnik recently revealed in a TikTok video that the 16 pairs for this season will apparently be separated by gender and perform on different nights during premiere week.
Are you excited about the premiere of DWTS Season 35? What do you think about this season’s new TikTok rule? Let us know in the comments below.
