Witney Carson and Ezra Sosa Reveal the 'Villains' of 'DWTS'
Dancing With The Stars professional dancers Witney Carson and Ezra Sosa are finally revealing who the show's villains are.
"Every reality TV show needs a villain because there needs to be a story arc," Sosa said in an interview with Vulture for their "Reality Masterminds" series. "I'm sometimes more sat for the villain than I am the non-villains."
The pair were then asked who they thought the villain was on the latest season of the ABC competition series.
"Goodness, I don't think anyone," Carson said. "Whitney Leavitt was painted as a villain on [The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives] and then she came to our show and reinvented herself, which I think was amazing."
Sosa added, "On season one of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, I was obsessed with Whitney Leavitt, but now, guess what? Everyone is."
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Sosa then addressed a common misconception that the judging panel-made up of Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli-are the real villains of the show.
"I was going to say the judges, but they're just doing their job," he said. "A lot of people think our judges are the villains because they give us low scores. Sis, they're just doing their job. Rent is due."
Though neither offered a perfectly clear answer on who the villain is, Sosa was controversially paired up with Anna Delvey for season 33 in 2024.
The socialite divided fans as she had previously been convicted of multiple counts of grand larceny, attempted grand larceny, and theft of services after pretending to be a wealthy heiress in New York.
When asked his strongest memory of his former dance partner, Sosa replied, "It was probably the time when I rhinestoned her ankle monitor. That was during New York Fashion Week. I looked at her, and I was like, 'Can I rhinestone your ankle monitor?' And she was like, 'Of course.'"
"As a gay man, it was like music to my ears," he continued. "We were in New York, and she was teaching me how to walk. She was strutting it. We were walking in a show together, which is so iconic. It was for Pornhub. We don't have to talk about that."
Dancing With The Stars-with Ciara Miller and Maura Higgins as contestants-returns this fall on ABC.
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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 5:48 PM.