Originally appeared on E! Online<\/a><\/p>\n Corey Feldman<\/a><\/strong> isn\u2019t dancing around his feelings.<\/p>\n The Goonies star, who competed on season 34 of Dancing With the Stars<\/a> before being eliminated during week two of the competition, spoke out about the \u201ctoxic\u201d elements of his experience on the show.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a lot of stupidity in the mudslinging that went on behind the scenes,\u201d he said in a preview clip from the Nov. 23 episode of the Gurvey\u2019s Law radio show obtained by the Daily Mail<\/a>. \u201cActually there, everything was great. But the behind-the-scenes drama and B.S. that people throw around that show, I’ve never seen anything like it.\u201d<\/p>\n While the 54-year-old\u2014who was paired with pro dancer Jenna Johnson<\/strong> during his DWTS run\u2014insisted that \u201ceverybody gets along\u201d on set of the long-running series, he felt a different narrative play out publicly.<\/p>\n \u201cYou start reading these things in the paper,\u201d he continued. \u201c\u2018This person’s mad at this person. These people aren’t talking to each other.\u2019 \u2018Corey Feldman destroyed the show. He destroyed the whole show because he was such an egomaniac and so difficult to work with.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n For more behind-the-scenes tidbits from Dancing With the Stars, keep reading.<\/p>\n More from E! Online<\/strong><\/p>\n Specifically, Corey addressed comments made by Jenna\u2019s brother-in-law Maksim Chmerkovskiy<\/a><\/strong>, who told the Daily Mail<\/a> that she had \u201ca bit of an uphill climb with Corey\u201d following their elimination in September.<\/p>\n Disney\/Stewart Cook<\/p>\n \u201cI asked Jenna, I\u2019m like, \u2018Where is this coming from?\u2019\u201d Corey recalled. \u201cShe rolls her eyes. She\u2019s like, \u2018It\u2019s just Maks. Don\u2019t pay attention to him. He just wants attention.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Corey and Jenna did face feud rumors in the days after this season\u2019s cast was announced, but the Stand by Me actor made it clear that he was grateful for their pairing<\/a> after their time on the show came to an end.<\/p>\n \u201cThank U Jenna!\u201d he wrote in a comment<\/a> on Jenna\u2019s Instagram<\/a> page one day after their elimination. \u201cU were an absolute joy to work with. Im so sorry for any negativity the media is using to give the false narrative that our time together was anything less than enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n For more behind-the-scenes tidbits from Dancing With the Stars, keep reading.<\/p>\n How Much Do the Celebrities Get Paid to Be on Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n Citing multiple sources, Variety<\/a> reported in 2019 that Dancing With the Stars<\/a> contestants make $125,000 for the rehearsal period and first two weeks of the show. If they progress beyond that point, the outlet continued, they earn more money each week. At the time, sources told the publication stars could earn a maximum of $295,000.<\/p>\n However, Bobby Bones <\/strong>said he made more than this when he won season 27 with Sharna Burgess <\/strong>in 2018.<\/p>\n “That show pays OK,” the radio personality said on a Sept. 2025 episode of Jason Tartick<\/strong>‘s podcast Trading Secrets<\/a>. “Like, first episode, no money. Second episode, $10,000. I think it’s like, $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000. It ends up being $50,000 an episode if you last.”<\/p>\n Also receiving a base salary of around $110,000, Bones continued, “I ended up making close to $400,000 from that show.” <\/p>\n ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n What Do the Pros Get Paid on Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n Similarly, little has been shared publicly about how much the pros get paid. But as with the contestants, it seems like the longer they’re on the show, the more money they can make. <\/p>\n But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they’re not leaving the ballroom empty-handed.<\/p>\n “You’re guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks,” Jenna Johnson<\/strong> said on a June 2025 episode of Kelly Stafford<\/strong> and Hank<\/strong> Winchester<\/strong>‘s podcast The Morning After<\/a>. “I think there’s different contracts though. I can’t speak for everybody.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Do Pros Get Paid More If They Win Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n Apparently not. <\/p>\n While Johnson\u2014who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam<\/strong> Rippon<\/strong>, as well as season 33 with The Bachelor’s Joey Graziadei<\/strong>\u2014says the pros don’t get a larger paycheck if they take home what is now called the Len Goodman<\/strong><\/a> Mirrorball Trophy, she noted there’s still an incentive to make it to the finale (besides bragging rights, of course).<\/p>\n “If you make it all the way to the end, you’re getting paid the whole season, which is amazing, and you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale,” she explained on The Morning After<\/a>. “If you win, it’s not like you win a $1 million and split it with your partner. You’re just getting a cute trophy together.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Do the Troupe Members Get Paid as Much as the Pros on Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n That doesn’t appear to be the case.<\/p>\n On a 2022 episode of Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold<\/strong><\/a> recalled how her salary was cut “more than in half” when she was demoted from pro to troupe member.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n How Are Pros and Celebrities Paired Together on Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n The pros get little input when it comes to being matched with a celebrity.<\/p>\n “You get no say,” Lindsay said on a May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers<\/strong>‘ Hot Smart Rich podcast<\/a>. “It’s very much just, ‘Here’s your partner. Make it work.'”<\/p>\n In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute.<\/p>\n “They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live,” Jenna said on The Morning After. “They want that genuine reaction. So I think people always think we know who we have and we’re keeping it a secret. Absolutely not. They do not tell us. They really don’t even want us to know the cast. It gets leaked a lot, but they want it very hush-hush until you walk in and meet your partner.”<\/p>\n As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches?<\/p>\n “It’s based on height, build and personality and compatibility,” former showrunner Rob Wade<\/strong> told E! News<\/a> in 2015. “We don’t pair people who aren’t going to get on. It’s too intense. It’s not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn’t do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don’t want to see two people who don’t like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn’t get on so well.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n How Often Do the Pros and Celebrities Practice on Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n Put simply, a lot.<\/p>\n “Every day we have four-hour rehearsals,” Rylee Arnold<\/strong><\/a>, who was partnered with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik<\/strong> on season 33, shared on a September 2024 episode of the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis<\/strong><\/a>. “It\u2019s either 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m.”<\/p>\n But the work doesn’t stop once the rehearsal wraps. Rylee noted she might then meet with producers or the creative team, work on choreography or study dance videos.<\/p>\n “Literally my whole life is devoted to it,” she continued, “but it’s my passion and it’s what I love. So, it makes me so happy.”<\/p>\n Indeed, it’s a no-days-off kind of gig.<\/p>\n “We have our show day on Tuesday and then it’s Wednesday to Sunday, straight rehearsals,” Rylee added. “And then Monday we have camera blocking and then Tuesday’s show day again.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Do the Pros Get to Pick the Songs Each Week for Their Dance With Their Celebrity Partner?<\/p>\n “Mostly yes,” Emma Slater<\/strong> and Britt Stewart<\/strong> revealed in a September 2025 Instagram<\/a> video, “though it’s a collaboration with producers.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n What’s the Process Like for Making the Costumes for Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n If you thought the quickstep was fast, just wait until you hear about the pace of the costume department.<\/p>\n “We meet with the set and lighting designers, dancers and talent and create a story [for each pair],” costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner<\/strong> told TV Insider<\/a> back in 2017. “Then we sketch out ideas. We have five days, max, to make all the outfits. That\u2019s half a day per costume, not including all the rhinestones. The fitting and trimming we do later. We have about 20 people in our department and then we have a separate tailor shop. It\u2019s a big enterprise.”<\/p>\n In fact, costume designer Steven Norman Lee<\/strong> said pairs usually try on their costumes for the first time just hours before showtime. And while the department “might use a pair of pants again for the boys,” he continued, everything is generally made custom each week.<\/p>\n As Gschwendtner added, “We do reuse things for group numbers or promo shoots, but not for the competition. We don\u2019t reuse things unless there\u2019s a specific reason to do so. We try to keep everybody fresh and new in something different every week, so it stays interesting.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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