TL;DR
Turn the school run and nap time into listening time
- Thousands of audiobooks, podcasts and originals
- Listen on your phone, tablet or Echo — also offline
- Cancel anytime
Guillermo Rodriguez, Jimmy Kimmel’s longtime sidekick, has become an unexpected focus of fan support on the current season of Dancing With the Stars, confirming his friendship with Jackson Olson after a recent apology. Psychology Today links that support to his underdog appeal and the social psychology concept of basking in reflected glory, while the outcome of his run remains undecided.
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. A Psychology Today article argues that his underdog image and viewers’ desire to share in a favorite’s success may help explain the support keeping him in the competition.
Rodriguez is competing with professional dancer Witney Carson. The article says his appeal builds on a public persona formed when he moved from working as a security guard to appearing as a sidekick on Jimmy Kimmel’s show. It describes fans as responding to his lack of pretense, humor and willingness to acknowledge that dancing is not his strength.
That contrast has become part of the story of his run. After one performance, Rodriguez opened his shirt to reveal the words “Dancing 4 The People,” a gesture the article interprets as crediting the fans’ enthusiasm rather than his technical skill. In the most recent episode described, he and Carson performed a samba that received 13 out of 30 points from the judges. The article reports that audience votes were sufficient for them to return for another week.
The article connects this support to basking in reflected glory, or BIRG: a term social psychologist Robert Cialdini and colleagues used in a 1976 study to describe how people can feel a reflected sense of achievement when someone or a team they support succeeds. It also describes the reverse response, cutting off reflected failure, in which fans distance themselves from a group after it loses. These concepts offer one interpretation of fan behavior; they do not establish why any individual viewer voted.
Why Guillermo Rodriguez Draws Attention in Entertainment
A familiar sidekick, an underdog story and a surprising run on Dancing With the Stars have made Guillermo Rodriguez a focus of fan support—even as judges’ scores remain modest.
The central idea
Fans may enjoy feeling connected to a contestant’s success.
One possible reading of the supportWhy viewers rally around him
Psychology Today points to a combination of persona, persistence and an existing bond with viewers. These are interpretations of fan enthusiasm, not measured causes of individual votes.
Progress feels accessible
Rodriguez readily acknowledges that dancing is not his strength. His effort in a demanding competition gives viewers a story of persistence rather than polished expertise.
A following before the show
His move from security guard to sidekick on Jimmy Kimmel’s show built a public profile and fan base before he joined the dance competition.
No pretense required
The article describes fans responding to his humor and willingness to admit his limits. A “Dancing 4 The People” shirt also turned attention toward supporters.
Judges score; viewers decide who stays
The samba result illustrates how audience support can keep a contestant in the field after a modest judges’ score.
Visual scale: 13 points on a 30-point range.
The audience vote was enough to return
Rodriguez and Carson advanced to another week, according to the article. The account does not provide vote totals, a breakdown by contestant or the exact contribution of each factor to the result.
How reflected glory may work
Psychology Today uses a social psychology concept to interpret why supporters can feel invested in a contestant’s progress.
“We’re moving forward”
When someone or a team we support succeeds, we may feel a reflected sense of achievement. Robert Cialdini and colleagues described the concept in a 1976 study.
“That’s not our loss”
Fans may distance themselves from a group after it loses. A 1986 study by Snyder, Lassegard and Ford examined distancing after group success or failure.
From familiar face to competition story
The article describes an existing connection with viewers that expanded when Rodriguez entered a new, visibly challenging setting.
What the story can—and can’t—tell us
Fan psychology offers a lens on enthusiasm. It cannot establish what any individual viewer thought or predict the competition’s outcome.
They advanced after the samba
The judges gave Rodriguez and Carson 13 out of 30 points; audience votes were sufficient for them to return.
Vote totals or a breakdown
The article does not quantify Rodriguez’s support or compare it with votes for other contestants.
BIRG may help explain appeal
The cited concept is not a study showing that reflected glory caused votes in this season of the show.
How far he will go
The article leaves the final, future scores and mirror ball outcome unknown.
How Fan Votes Shape Rodriguez’s Run
The attention around Rodriguez highlights how a television competition can be shaped by audience attachment as well as judges’ scores. His low samba score and return to the next episode illustrate that the show’s voting can keep a contestant in the field even when judges give a performance modest marks. The exact contribution of each factor to the result is not provided in the article.
For viewers, the article’s analysis offers a way to think about why a competitor with less apparent technical skill can attract strong support. Rodriguez’s persona may make his progress feel accessible: the appeal is not simply watching a polished dancer succeed, but watching a familiar entertainer persist in a demanding setting. The idea of BIRG adds that fans may also take pleasure in feeling connected to a contestant who is advancing.
The same attachment can create tension among fans. The article says supporters of other contestants have worried that their favorites could be eliminated while Rodriguez stays, and it notes accusations on social media that the show was rigged. Those comments are viewer allegations, not evidence that voting was manipulated. No proof of rigging is presented in the article.
Dancing With the Stars Guillermo Rodriguez fan t-shirt
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From Kimmel Sidekick to DWTS Contestant
Rodriguez’s public profile predates his appearance on Dancing With the Stars. Psychology Today describes his shift from a security guard to an onstage sidekick as the beginning of his celebrity status and says he already had a fan base before joining the competition. The current attention, then, is an expansion of an existing connection with viewers rather than a sudden introduction.
The article also places his appeal within a broader interest in authenticity and the underdog. It says fans praised his lack of pretense and his readiness to admit when he is not especially good at something. One comment on Deadline’s article, quoted by Psychology Today, said: “The world needs more Guillermos and especially now!” The comment is an example of a viewer’s reaction, not a measure of audience opinion as a whole.
Psychology Today cites two research papers: Cialdini and colleagues’ 1976 study of basking in reflected glory, and a 1986 study by Snyder, Lassegard and Ford on distancing after group success or failure. The article applies these ideas to fan identification with Rodriguez. It does not report a study measuring whether BIRG caused votes on this season of the show.
“Just like everybody else, I’m obsessed with you.”
— Judge Derek Hough, as quoted by Psychology Today
What Fan Support Can’t Explain
The article does not give vote totals, a voting breakdown, or a comparison with other contestants, so it is not possible to quantify how much support Rodriguez received or how it affected the result. It reports that he advanced after the samba, but does not specify the voting window or the number of votes cast.
BIRG is presented as a possible explanation for fan enthusiasm, not a demonstrated cause of Rodriguez’s continued run. Other reasons viewers might support him are not measured. The claims that the competition was rigged are also unsubstantiated in the article; no evidence or official response addressing them is included.
The article’s account ends with Rodriguez set to return for another episode. Whether he will continue advancing, how judges and viewers will respond to future performances, and whether he can win the mirror ball remain unknown.
Rodriguez’s Next Competition Night
Rodriguez and Carson are due to return to the competition after receiving enough audience votes to continue, according to the article. Their next performance and the next round of judges’ scores and audience voting will show whether the current support holds.
The article leaves open whether Rodriguez can reach the final or win the mirror ball. Until further results are reported, his prospects remain uncertain; the psychology of fan identification can suggest why viewers may rally around a contestant, but it cannot predict the show’s outcome.
Key Questions
Why is Guillermo Rodriguez attracting attention on Dancing With the Stars?
Psychology Today points to his underdog appeal, humor and lack of pretense, as well as the connection he had already built with viewers as Jimmy Kimmel’s sidekick.
What does “basking in reflected glory” mean?
BIRG describes the sense of reflected success people may feel when someone or a group they support wins. Psychology Today offers it as one possible explanation for why fans enjoy Rodriguez’s progress.
How did Rodriguez advance after a low samba score?
The article reports that Rodriguez and Witney Carson received 13 out of 30 points from the judges and still got enough audience votes to return. It does not provide vote totals or a detailed breakdown of the result.
Is there evidence that Dancing With the Stars was rigged?
The article mentions viewer accusations on social media, but presents no evidence that voting was manipulated. The accusations should not be treated as confirmed facts.
Will Guillermo Rodriguez win the mirror ball?
That remains unknown. The article says he advanced to another episode but does not report a final result or predict how far he will go.
Source: psychologytoday.com
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
