DWTS Voting Crashes Mid-Premiere!

The highly anticipated two-night premiere of Dancing with the Stars, which began on Tuesday, September 15, was marred by significant technical issues. Approximately 26 minutes into the live broadcast, host Julianne Hough informed viewers that the online voting platform on ABC.com had crashed, preventing fans from casting their votes digitally. This unexpected disruption led to an immediate shift in voting procedures.

As a direct consequence of the online voting system failure, Alfonso Ribeiro announced later in the episode that all online votes for that night would be discarded. Fans were exclusively directed to vote via text message for the remainder of the opening night's performances. This measure was taken to ensure that viewer participation could continue despite the website's malfunction. The show's team acknowledged the situation with a touch of humor, noting they were "breaking stuff around here."

The premiere featured male celebrities dancing with their professional partners, with a strict rule that fans could only vote for the male stars on this night. The article also highlights that season 35 follows a record-breaking season 34, which saw 72 million votes in its finale and nearly half a billion votes throughout the entire season. The two-night premiere continued on Wednesday, September 16, with episodes streaming on Hulu the following day.