This season of Dancing with the Stars is already looking less like a glamorous competition and more like a behind-the-scenes soap opera. As the ballroom prepares to welcome its latest lineup, whispers from insiders suggest that Season 34 is one big, glitter-covered mess. It seems that some of the contestants are causing huge issues backstage, and the drama is nonstop. Meanwhile, it looks like Corey Feldman is one person who is making major waves before the show even premieres.
With names like Jordan Chiles, Hilaria Baldwin, Danielle Fishel, Robert Irwin, Elaine Hendrix, Corey Feldman, and influencer Alix Earle slated to hit the dance floor, you’d think producers would be riding high on excitement. However, insiders are already calling it a “s**t show.”
Apparently, several of the stars have already been branded “lazy” by their pro partners, per The Daily Mail. One source bluntly pointed to Corey Feldman as the biggest offender, saying, “It takes work to win Dancing with the Stars. Rehearsals, practice, really immersing yourself, and a few people don’t seem to want to do that.” Not exactly a glowing endorsement.
Dancing With The Stars Season 34 Is Full Of Behind-The-Scenes Drama
In fact, Feldman nearly set off alarm bells when he vanished for five days right after the cast was announced. His pro, Jenna Johnson, had fans flooding her DMs wondering why there were no rehearsal TikToks. Her answer? She hadn’t seen him since the cast reveal on Good Morning America. While the two eventually reunited for training, insiders claim Feldman’s focus might be elsewhere, mainly on the resurgence of Charlie Sheen in the spotlight. Feldman has a long, complicated history involving Sheen, and the renewed media coverage has apparently been “upsetting” for him.
Meanwhile, Feldman’s not the only headache for producers. Some pros feel “demoralized” by the pairings, claiming the casting is just office politics in sequins. As one insider put it, DWTS may look like a fairytale, but behind the glitter ball, “it’s just like an office job.” Translation? There are favorites, politics, and plenty of grumbling.
This isn’t the first time casting has raised eyebrows. Remember Anna Delvey’s ankle monitor stealing the spotlight last season? Insiders say producers are now trying to “make it up” to Ezra Sosa, who had to put up with that circus, by giving him gymnast Jordan Chiles as a kind of peace offering. But even with the course correction, some pros feel like they’re being “set up to fail” with stars who have little drive, or worse, no chance of improving.
Corey Feldman Is Allegedly Causing Trouble
If that wasn’t enough, casting issues spilled over into last-minute drama when Jordon Hudson, pageant queen and girlfriend of football coach Bill Belichick, backed out at the eleventh hour. Producers scrambled to fill her spot.
Still, ABC has a lot riding on this. Last season’s finale was the most-watched in years, pulling in nearly 8 million viewers across all platforms. That kind of momentum can’t be ignored, but if this season continues to spiral, even die-hard fans may start tuning in for the wrong reasons, because who doesn’t love watching a train wreck unfold in sequins?
At this point, the only thing keeping the ballroom from fully collapsing is the sheer entertainment value of watching everything go wrong. As one insider put it, “It’s fun to watch a train wreck, but it sucks for the pro who is paired with them.” For fans, though, maybe the mess is the new sparkle.
Kenna Raye 
Sofia Bassett 
