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Guillermo Rodriguez, Jimmy Kimmel’s longtime sidekick, has become an unexpected fan favorite on the current season of Dancing With the Stars, despite receiving low judges’ scores for a recent samba. Psychology Today discusses how fans’ identification with a successful contestant, known as basking in reflected glory, may help explain the support. The article does not establish that this is the sole reason for his popularity or quantify how many viewers vote for him.
Guillermo Rodriguez, Jimmy Kimmel’s longtime sidekick, has emerged as an unexpected audience favorite on the current season of Dancing With the Stars, and a Psychology Today article says the psychological idea of basking in reflected glory may help explain why viewers are rallying around him. Rodriguez and professional partner Witney Carson have continued in the competition despite a low score for a recent samba, though the article does not provide vote totals or establish that reflected glory is the reason for his support.
Rodriguez became known to television audiences after moving from work as a security guard to appearing as a comic sidekick on Jimmy Kimmel’s show. The Psychology Today article describes his appeal as rooted partly in a familiar public persona: he does not appear to take himself too seriously, and he has acknowledged that dancing is not his strength. Those qualities may make his progress on the dance competition feel more relatable to viewers than a polished, predictable performance would.
The article points to a recent samba as an example of the contrast between judges’ scores and audience support. Rodriguez and Carson received 13 out of 30 from the judges, but, according to the article, enough fans voted for them to remain in the contest. It does not give the vote count, explain the show’s full scoring formula for that episode, or compare his votes with those of other contestants.
Psychology Today presents BIRG—“basking in reflected glory”—as one possible interpretation. Social psychologist Robert Cialdini and co-authors used the term in a 1976 study of football fans. The concept describes people’s tendency to feel some reflected pride from an individual or group’s success, even when they did not directly contribute to it. Applied to the show, the idea suggests that viewers may enjoy supporting Rodriguez as he advances. It is an explanation of fan behavior, not proof of what motivates each vote.
How Fan Loyalty Shapes the Contest
The discussion matters because reality competitions combine judges’ assessments with audience participation. When a contestant with comparatively low scores stays in the running, viewer voting can affect who remains, making the contest about more than technical performance. Rodriguez’s continuing presence, as described in the article, illustrates how a contestant’s personality and relationship with viewers may carry weight alongside the judges’ evaluations.
The BIRG framework also offers a way to understand why a contestant’s success can feel personally rewarding to supporters. Psychology Today suggests that viewers may see Rodriguez’s progress as an underdog story and take pleasure in being part of it. That interpretation should be kept distinct from confirmed voting data: the article reports that he advanced, but it does not show that fans voted for him because they identified with his success.
The same attachment can have a less positive side. The article notes that fans may feel disappointed when someone they support loses and may distance themselves from that person’s failure. It also describes concerns from supporters of other contestants and critical comments about Rodriguez remaining in the competition. The material does not establish organized harassment or document how widespread those reactions are.
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From Sidekick to Dance Contestant
Rodriguez already had a public profile before joining Dancing With the Stars. His years as a sidekick on Jimmy Kimmel’s program gave audiences a chance to become familiar with his on-screen persona. The Psychology Today article argues that this prior connection may help explain why viewers respond to his willingness to be vulnerable about his dancing rather than presenting himself as an expert.
The article also recalls a moment after one performance when Rodriguez opened his shirt to reveal the words “Dancing 4 The People.” It describes the gesture as an acknowledgment that audience enthusiasm, rather than his own view of his dancing ability, was helping drive the response. Deadline had also run the headline “Guillermo Rodriguez is finally getting his moment,” according to Psychology Today.
The article connects the audience response to Cialdini and colleagues’ 1976 research on football fans’ public association with successful teams, and to a 1986 study by C. R. Snyder, Mary Lassegard and Carol Ford on distancing oneself from group failure. The latter behavior is known as cutting off reflected failure, or CORFing. These studies concern group identification and fan behavior; they do not directly establish why viewers are voting for Rodriguez on this season of the show.
“Just like everybody else, I’m obsessed with you.”
— Derek Hough, as quoted in the Psychology Today article
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What the Vote Numbers Do Not Show
The available account does not provide audience vote totals, the margin by which Rodriguez and Carson advanced, or a full breakdown of judges’ scores and viewer votes. It is consequently not possible to quantify how much fan voting influenced the result or compare their support directly with that for other couples.
BIRG is presented as a possible explanation, not a finding about individual viewers. The article does not report a survey of Rodriguez’s supporters or evidence that they voted to share in his success. His established television presence, humor, perceived authenticity and underdog status are also proposed as possible contributors, but their relative importance remains unknown. The article mentions claims that the show is rigged, but supplies no evidence establishing that allegation.
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Rodriguez’s Next Competition Round
Rodriguez and Carson were set to return to the competition after the samba episode described in the article. The material does not give the next episode’s date, the pair’s subsequent results, or whether they will reach the season finale. Further episodes will show whether they continue to advance, but their eventual standing is not confirmed.
For now, the central point is that Rodriguez’s reported survival despite a low judges’ score has prompted discussion about the role of audience attachment in the show. Whether reflected glory explains a meaningful share of his support—or whether viewers are responding mainly to his personality, existing fame or another factor—cannot be determined from the information available.
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Key Questions
Why has Guillermo Rodriguez become a fan favorite on Dancing With the Stars?
Psychology Today suggests that viewers may respond to his established television persona, his willingness to acknowledge his limitations and an underdog narrative. The article also discusses basking in reflected glory as one possible reason people enjoy supporting a contestant who is succeeding.
What is basking in reflected glory?
Basking in reflected glory, or BIRG, describes feeling pride or a positive association through another person’s or group’s success. Social psychologist Robert Cialdini and co-authors used the term in a 1976 study of football fans. The concept does not establish the motives of any particular Dancing With the Stars voter.
How did Rodriguez do in the samba discussed in the article?
Rodriguez and professional partner Witney Carson received 13 out of 30 from the judges for the samba. According to the Psychology Today article, enough viewers voted for them to continue in the competition; it does not report the vote total.
Is Dancing With the Stars rigged to keep Rodriguez on the show?
The article mentions online accusations that the show is rigged, but provides no evidence that the allegation is true. It reports that Rodriguez remained in the competition after receiving a low judges’ score, but does not provide voting data or establish wrongdoing.
Source: psychologytoday.com
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