Mark Ballas, the longtime Dancing with the Stars pro paired this season with Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt, is speaking out amid claims on social media that he receives favoritism from producers and show runners when it comes to picking performances every week. Tuesday is Wicked Night in the DWTS ballroom, where the 10 remaining couples will dance to songs from the Broadway musical turned film duo Wicked and Wicked: For Good.
Mark and Whitney are slated to dance a quickstep to “Popular” — a decision that, when announced Thursday, left many fans complaining that Mark seemingly always gets what he wants on the show, considering he’s been around since season 5 and grew up dancing with judge Derek and host Julianne Hough. But that’s not actually true, the dancer revealed recently in a humorous TikTok post.
© DisneyThe Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt and pro Mark Ballas
“How some of you think I am in the DWTS music meetings,” Mark captioned a video of himself acting out an audio clip from the film Hook: “I want, I want, I want, me, me, me, me, mine, mine, mine, mine, now, now now,” he mouthed dramatically. But “all jokes aside,” Mark shared the actual music requests he made for Wicked night in order of his preferences — and the one he and Whitney got was actually his fourth choice.
- “For Good,” which will be performed as a rumba by Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa. Mark was hoping to switch the dance to a Viennese Waltz.
- “The Wizard and I,” which Scott Hoying and Rylee Arnold are doing as a contemporary. Mark thought the dance might lend itself to a foxtrot, but he and Whitney had already performed a foxtrot during Disney Week, so he pitched doing jazz.
- “What Is This Feeling,” ” which Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy are performing as a jazz routine. Similarly, Mark thought he could turn a foxtrot-esque number into a jazz performance instead.
- “Popular,” the song he and Whitney are actually doing as a quickstep. “Could be a cute quickstep but the tempo needs to be more consistent, which the band can make happen,” were his notes on the song.
© DisneyWhitney Leavitt and pro Mark Ballas are joined by Whitney’s husband, Conner, on DWTS
“But honestly this is one of my FAVORITE shows of all time and I’d be happy with any song,” Mark concluded. “I LOVE the music so much.”
Other DWTS pros and stars joined in on Mark’s joke in the comments. “Wait… we can have MUSIC MEETINGS?!” pro Ezra Sosa wrote. “Not that we have music meetings, mind you,” pro Emma Slater added. “No, just ME,” Mark replied to both. Dylan Efron sarcastically claimed he didn’t buy Mark’s story: “Wasn’t ‘I’m not that girl’ everyone’s first choice?’ he asked, referencing the song he and pro Danielle Karagach will be dancing to.
© DisneyThe Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt and pro Mark Ballas
Even a past DWTS competitor weighed in: “I love this post/caption [because people] really don’t know how it works week to week,” Love Island host and Vanderpump Rules alum Ariana Madix wrote. “I think it’s a fascinating part of the process!”
But even then, some viewers had their doubts. “I don’t buy it,” one fan commented on Mark’s video. “If popular was the last on your list, then why [didn’t] someone who requested it much higher on their list get it?”
© Getty ImagesMark Ballas and his first DWTS celebrity partner, Sabrina Bryan, in 2007
“You don’t need to buy anything,” Mark replied. This is the way it goes and Universal [the studio that produced Wicked] actually had a lot of input and final say in everything. So take a seat.”