Maura Higgins slams reports Dancing With the Stars is ‘fixed' for her to win
Maura Higgins slams reports Dancing With the Stars is ‘fixed' for her to win
Lauren DuBois Sat, October 10, 2026 at 11:16 PM UTC
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Maura higgins is addressing rumors DWTS is fixed for her to win (Image: ABC)
Maura Higgins is putting rumors that the show has been rigged for her to win season 35 of Dancing With the Stars to rest, admitting that while it would be nice, no such thing exists.
The Traitors alum is competing on season 35 of the dance competition series, and has quickly emerged as a front-runner on the ABC show, consistently landing near the top of the leaderboard alongside her partner, Mark Ballas.
Now, as drama starts to permeate the show with fans speculating about "inappropriate" relationships, and furious claims that things are "rigged," Higgins, 35, is speaking up after she became the focus of some of the backlash and ire.
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Some fans have speculated that things are being "fixed" for her and Ballas to win, noting their high scores and their pre-existing relationship as they claim it.
Now, in a new interview, she is setting the record straight.
Maura Higgins has said the 'fix' for her to win doesnt exist (Image: ABC)
Appearing on an episode of Season 34 runner-up Alix Earle's YouTube series, Higgins admitted that the rumors were just that.
"There was a rumor....[that] was all over the press, that, like, seemingly 'Dancing With the Stars is fixed for me to win," she said. "I was so tempted to comment on it and go, 'Oh my God, does that mean I don't actually have to learn any of the dances?'"
She then admitted that she had to talk herself out of responding to the rumors, before joking she wished they were true.
"I was like, 'Don't feed into it, Maura, because this is what you do. But, I wish that [rumor] is true!"
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Higgins said she 'wished' it was true but that she was working at it like everyone else (Image: ABC)
In the first four weeks of competition, Higgins and Ballas have topped the leaderboard twice, tying with Harry Shum Jr and Jenna Johnson on the first week with 21 points, and taking the top spot during week four, with 25 points-and earning the first nine of the season.
They were fourth on the judges' leaderboard during week two, taking the second-highest score between three-way first place spot holders, Amber Glenn, Ezra Frech and Jenna Dewan.
In week three, they held the third-place spot, behind first-place teams Glenn and Pasha Pashkov and Shum Jr and Johnson.
Their performance and the subsequent rumors comes after she was also tagged as an early Mirrorball contender by none other than Season 34 champ, Robert Irwin.
Higgins was tagged as an early Mirrorball contender (Image: ABC)
Back in May, after Higgins, Ciara Miller and Jackson Olson were all confirmed to be competing on the show, Irwin admitted that he thought she could win, because like him, she was the first celebrity to be announced for the season.
"I walked her out [to announce the season on April] and she was like, 'I feel like this is a good omen. Like, this was you last year, you were the first announced," he said at the time. "I'm like, 'Yeah, I think the luck is on your side."
Celebrities who were announced first who went on to win their seasons included Robert, his sister Bindi, Charli D'Amelio, and Kaitlyn Bristowe.
Other early announced competitors also performed well, with Earle and Jojo Siwa both taking second during their seasons, Ariana Madix and Ginger Zee each placing third during theirs, and Stephen Nedoroscik, Charity Lawson, Amanda Kloots, and Drew Scott all taking fourth in their season finales.
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays on ABC and Disney+.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
