Guillermo Rodriguez has become one of the biggest surprises of Dancing With the Stars Season 35 — but his continued survival is also creating one of the season’s biggest debates.
The longtime Jimmy Kimmel Live! personality and his professional partner Witney Carson have repeatedly found themselves near the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard, yet viewers continue to keep them in the competition.
Guillermo’s ballroom journey began with a difficult debut. His cha-cha earned just 10 out of 30, one of the lowest scores in DWTS history. Despite the rough result, Guillermo survived the elimination.
His scores have improved since then, but he has remained at or tied for the bottom of the leaderboard. He followed his debut with a 12 before earning his season-high 15 out of 30 for his Yacht Rock Night foxtrot.
Yet Guillermo remained safe again while contestants with higher judges’ scores were eliminated.
The biggest surprise came when Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart were sent home after scoring 18 out of 30 on Yacht Rock Night, three points higher than Guillermo and Witney.
That result intensified questions among some viewers about how Guillermo continues to survive while technically stronger dancers leave the competition.
But there is no evidence that Dancing With the Stars is secretly manipulating the results to protect him.
An unnamed source responding to the growing speculation reportedly denied that the competition was being “rigged” for Guillermo and pointed instead toward something much simpler: a large and enthusiastic voting base.
That explanation fits the way Dancing With the Stars works. Judges’ scores are only part of the result, while viewers can also vote for the couples they want to remain in the competition. A contestant therefore does not necessarily have to finish high on the judges’ leaderboard to survive.
Guillermo also has something most contestants do not — a powerful promotional platform behind him.
Jimmy Kimmel has repeatedly discussed his longtime sidekick’s ballroom journey on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, encouraging the audience to support Guillermo and turning his survival into an ongoing part of the show.
The campaign appears to be connecting with viewers who have embraced Guillermo as Season 35’s lovable underdog.
His appeal extends beyond Kimmel’s audience as well. John Oliver recently revealed that his young sons have become obsessed with watching Guillermo compete, praising the happiness and entertainment he brings to the ballroom despite his lower scores.
Witney has also repeatedly praised Guillermo’s attitude behind the scenes, describing him as hardworking and noting that he continues practicing even when scheduled rehearsals are finished.
His Yacht Rock Night routine perfectly illustrated why audiences may be keeping him around. Although the technique still earned only 15 points, Guillermo ripped open his shirt during the performance to reveal a coconut bra and the words “Dancing 4 the People,” creating one of the night’s most memorable comedic moments.
That combination of humor, personality and visible improvement may be proving just as important with viewers as ballroom technique.
But the controversy is unlikely to disappear as long as higher-scoring contestants continue going home while Guillermo survives.
For now, there is a straightforward explanation: Guillermo may be losing the judges’ scoreboard, but he appears to be winning something equally important on Dancing With the Stars — the audience vote.
And if that support continues, the contestant who began the season with one of the lowest scores in show history could remain in the ballroom much longer than anyone originally expected.
