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Guillermo Rodriguez, Jimmy Kimmel’s longtime sidekick, became an unexpected audience favorite on the current season of Dancing With the Stars alongside professional partner Witney Carson. Psychologytoday.com suggests his perceived authenticity and the social-psychological effect known as basking in reflected glory may help explain the support, while the available account does not provide vote totals or establish that this is the only reason viewers back him.

Guillermo Rodriguez, the longtime Jimmy Kimmel sidekick competing on Dancing With the Stars with professional dancer Witney Carson, has become an unexpected audience favorite, according to a psychologytoday.com analysis of his reception. The article points to his unpretentious public persona and a fan response it connects to basking in reflected glory, a psychological concept for sharing in the positive feelings associated with another person’s success.

Rodriguez was already known to viewers as a quirky security guard who became a recurring onstage presence on Jimmy Kimmel’s program. The analysis argues that the qualities fans liked in that role—humor, vulnerability and not taking himself too seriously—also help explain his appeal on the dance competition. It describes audiences as responding to a figure they perceive as genuine, especially when public life can make it difficult to distinguish what is authentic.

His performance level is part of the story, too. The article says Rodriguez has acknowledged that he is not an especially skilled dancer, while his continued survival in the contest has drawn attention because other competitors are more technically accomplished. After a samba that received 13 out of 30 from the judges, Rodriguez and Carson were still set to return, according to the account. It gives no vote totals or breakdown of how audience voting affected the result.

Psychologytoday.com also reports enthusiastic reactions from judges and the show’s official social media account. Judge Derek Hough said, “Just like everybody else, I’m obsessed with you,” while Bruno Tonioli said, “I understand why you’re becoming a national obsession.” The show’s official Instagram praised Rodriguez and Carson’s samba, posting that it could not be more “obsessed” with the pair’s performance. These comments show public enthusiasm, but do not establish why individual viewers voted for them.

How Fan Support Shapes the Contest

The response matters because audience voting can keep a contestant in a televised competition even when judges give a performance a low score. Rodriguez’s return after the reported 13 out of 30 samba score illustrates the influence of viewer support, though the available account does not state the voting rules, vote totals or precise role of each component in the result.

The analysis offers a possible explanation for why a contestant’s appeal may extend beyond dance technique. Viewers can root for someone they see as an underdog, identify with a personable public figure, or feel a reflected sense of achievement when that person succeeds. These are interpretations of the fan response, not proof that a particular psychological mechanism motivated every vote. For viewers, the tension is between judging a competition as a dance contest and enjoying a contestant’s broader connection with the audience.

From Kimmel Sidekick to Contestant

Rodriguez’s recognition predates his appearance on Dancing With the Stars. The analysis describes him as having moved from work as a security guard to a recurring sidekick on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, giving him an existing audience before the dance competition. His current popularity, then, is presented not as a sudden creation of the program but as a new expression of an established public persona.

The psychological idea at the center of the article is basking in reflected glory, or BIRG. Social psychologist Robert Cialdini and co-authors used the term in a 1976 study of football supporters. The concept describes people’s tendency to feel connected to a group’s success and to emphasize that association. A later study by Snyder, Lassegard and Ford examined the opposite response after success or failure: people may distance themselves from a group after it loses, an effect described as cutting off reflected failure, or CORFing.

Psychologytoday.com applies those concepts to Rodriguez’s run and suggests that supporters may enjoy his progress partly because it gives them a vicarious sense of success. The article also notes that such identification can cut both ways: fans may distance themselves when a favorite fails, while strong attachment can make competition with other contestants feel personal. This framework provides context, not a direct measurement of the motives of Dancing With the Stars voters.

“Just like everybody else, I’m obsessed with you.”

— Derek Hough, Dancing With the Stars judge, as quoted by psychologytoday.com

What the Vote Numbers Do Not Show

The account does not identify the season or episode dates, provide audience vote totals, or explain the exact voting formula behind Rodriguez and Carson’s return. It also does not report polling or other direct research establishing why viewers supported them. BIRG is offered as a possible explanation alongside his perceived authenticity and underdog appeal, not as a proven account of every fan’s motivation.

The article mentions accusations from some viewers that the show was rigged, including complaints that Rodriguez should leave the competition. It provides no evidence supporting those accusations, and they should be treated as viewer claims rather than established facts. Whether Rodriguez will advance further or win the competition is also unknown from the information reported.

The Next Results Will Test Support

Rodriguez and Carson were expected to return for another round at the point described in the article. The next publicly reported result—how their performance is scored and whether audience voting keeps them in the competition—will show whether their support continues. No later outcome, final placement or schedule is established in the account, so the prospect of Rodriguez reaching the mirror ball remains open.

Key Questions

Why has Guillermo Rodriguez become a fan favorite on Dancing With the Stars?

Psychologytoday.com points to his perceived authenticity, humor and underdog appeal, as well as the possibility that fans enjoy sharing in his success. The analysis does not establish one reason that applies to every viewer.

What does BIRG mean?

Basking in reflected glory describes a person’s vicarious positive feeling from being associated with another person or group’s success. The concept is associated with social psychologist Robert Cialdini and colleagues’ 1976 research on football supporters.

Did Rodriguez receive a low score for his samba?

The psychologytoday.com account reports that Rodriguez and Carson received 13 out of 30 from the judges for the samba. It says they were still set to return, but does not give the vote totals or explain the full scoring and voting breakdown.

Is there evidence that Dancing With the Stars was rigged?

The account mentions accusations posted by viewers but supplies no evidence that the show was rigged. Those comments are allegations, not confirmed findings.

Will Guillermo Rodriguez win the competition?

That remains unknown. The available account says he and Carson were returning for another round but does not report a final result.

Source: psychologytoday.com