Maura Higgins is finally addressing one of the wildest rumors surrounding Dancing With the Stars Season 35.
After spending weeks near the top of the leaderboard with professional partner Mark Ballas, Maura became the subject of online speculation claiming the competition was somehow being “fixed” for her to win.
Now the 35-year-old reality star has revealed exactly how she reacted when she first saw the accusation.
And apparently, she came very close to responding publicly.
Maura discussed the rumor during an appearance on Season 34 finalist Alix Earle’s YouTube series, explaining that reports claiming DWTS was supposedly set up for her victory had spread widely enough that she couldn’t avoid seeing them.
Her first instinct was humor.
Maura joked that she was tempted to respond by asking whether the rumor meant she could stop learning the dances altogether.
But she ultimately stopped herself.
Instead of giving the claim more attention, Maura decided staying quiet was the smarter move.
She essentially reminded herself not to feed into a story simply because it was circulating online.
That decision is particularly interesting because Maura has been one of Season 35’s most visible early frontrunners.
She and Mark have consistently placed near the top of the leaderboard, and their Mariah Carey Night Waltz to “If It’s Over” produced their biggest breakthrough yet.
The routine earned 25 out of 30, including the first 9 awarded anywhere in Season 35, courtesy of Carrie Ann Inaba.
That score immediately fueled even more discussion.
Some viewers believed Maura deserved the breakthrough mark after weeks of improvement.
Others questioned why Carrie Ann gave Maura a 9 when Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli both stayed at 8.
And because Carrie Ann has already faced accusations of inconsistent scoring this season, Maura’s success quickly became connected to a much larger debate about favoritism.
But speculation isn’t evidence.
There has been no credible proof that producers have predetermined Maura as the Season 35 winner.
And Maura herself appears to find the idea almost funny.
“I wish,” she joked while addressing the rumor.
Her response also highlights something viewers don’t necessarily see in the final two-minute performance.
Maura has repeatedly talked about how difficult the competition has been physically and mentally.
She has admitted struggling during rehearsals, becoming emotional when routines wouldn’t come together and questioning whether she could master difficult choreography in only a few days.
Even her latest Waltz contained a move that almost disappeared from the routine.
Maura and Mark had struggled with a difficult double spin during rehearsals, and Mark considered removing it because he wasn’t sure it would work safely and cleanly on the live show.
Maura insisted on keeping it.
The gamble worked, and the completed routine became their highest-scoring performance yet.
Mark has also praised Maura’s natural ability while emphasizing how little formal dance experience she had before the competition.
That detail matters because another rumor earlier in the season suggested Maura had secretly received extensive ballroom preparation before joining DWTS.
Maura rejected that claim as well.
She said she intentionally avoided taking dance classes beforehand because she wanted to enter the competition as a “blank canvas” and learn directly from whichever professional partner she received.
That hasn’t stopped viewers from debating her rapid improvement.
And perhaps that is inevitable.
Whenever one contestant begins consistently topping the leaderboard, accusations of producer favoritism often follow.
The same season has already produced similar “rigged” discussions surrounding Guillermo Rodriguez — for almost the opposite reason.
Guillermo has repeatedly finished near the bottom with the judges but continues surviving because of strong public voting support.
A report examining those claims found no evidence the competition was being manipulated for Guillermo either.
Those two situations reveal how complicated DWTS can become.
When a technically strong contestant keeps scoring highly, some viewers suspect judges’ favoritism.
When a technically weaker contestant survives through fan voting, others suspect producer favoritism.
But the actual format intentionally combines judges’ scores and viewer votes, which means popularity and dancing ability both influence who stays.
For Maura, however, the solution appears simple.
She isn’t interested in fighting every online theory.
She considered responding.
She decided against it.
And instead, she has continued rehearsing with Mark.
With Super Bowl Night approaching, Maura will now face another significant challenge as she and Mark perform a Tango to Rihanna’s “Only Girl (In the World).”
Whether she eventually wins Season 35 remains unknown.
But according to Maura, anyone claiming the ending has already been decided is giving her considerably less credit for the work she is putting in each week.
Because if the competition truly were fixed in her favor, as she joked, learning all those dances would be a lot easier.
