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Guillermo Rodriguez’s unexpected success on Dancing With the Stars has drawn strong viewer support despite low judges’ scores for a recent Samba. Psychology Today suggests his appeal may reflect both his underdog persona and “basking in reflected glory,” a social psychology concept describing how people share in the feelings of someone else’s success.
Guillermo Rodriguez, Jimmy Kimmel’s longtime onstage sidekick, has become an unexpected audience favorite on Dancing With the Stars, prompting a Psychology Today analysis of why viewers are backing him despite his comparatively low judges’ scores. The article points to his underdog appeal and a social psychology concept called basking in reflected glory, or BIRG, as possible explanations—not as proof of why individual viewers vote.
Rodriguez is competing with professional dancer Witney Carson. In the episode discussed by Psychology Today, the pair’s Samba received 13 out of 30 from the judges, yet they received enough viewer votes to remain in the competition. The material does not provide vote totals or a comparison with other contestants, so the scale of his support cannot be quantified from the reported information.
The analysis argues that Rodriguez’s appeal predates the dance show. He first attracted attention as a quirky security guard who became a sidekick on Jimmy Kimmel’s program. Psychology Today says viewers have responded to his lack of pretension, willingness to be himself and openness about not being an accomplished dancer. Those traits, the article suggests, can make a contestant seem relatable.
The article also describes a moment when Rodriguez opened his shirt after a dance to reveal the words “Dancing 4 The People.” Psychology Today interprets the gesture as an acknowledgment that audience enthusiasm, rather than his technical ability, was helping carry him forward. The analysis places that response within a broader idea: viewers may enjoy feeling connected to an unlikely success, while the show’s continued voting determines who stays.
Understanding Guillermo Rodriguez Through Reflected Glory
Why viewers may rally behind an unlikely contestant—even when the judges’ scores are modest. Psychology Today proposes underdog appeal and “basking in reflected glory” as possible explanations, not proof of why any individual votes.
Relatability can make the underdog compelling
Psychology Today connects Rodriguez’s audience response to his public persona and to a social psychology idea. Both are interpretations of the reported enthusiasm.
From security guard to sidekick
Rodriguez became known as a quirky security guard before building a recurring onstage role alongside Jimmy Kimmel.
Open about his limits
The article says viewers may respond to his lack of pretension and willingness to acknowledge that dance is not his strength.
“Dancing 4 The People”
After a dance, he opened his shirt to reveal the phrase. Psychology Today reads it as recognition that audience enthusiasm was carrying him forward.
The pair received enough viewer votes to continue, but the account provides no vote totals or contestant-by-contestant comparison.
How reflected glory may work
BIRG describes sharing some positive feeling from another person’s or group’s success. It offers one possible lens on fandom, not a diagnosis of viewers.
Choose someone to support
A viewer identifies with a contestant or team.
They succeed
The person’s win can feel emotionally rewarding to supporters.
Share the good feeling
Fans may feel reflected pride or pleasure in that success.
Keep following
Voting and continued attention help shape who advances.
Success feels shared
Social psychologist Robert Cialdini and colleagues introduced the idea in a 1976 paper based on studies of football fans, as cited by Psychology Today.
Identification can shift
Research by Snyder, Lassegard and Ford (1986) examined distancing after group success or failure. Applying these ideas to Rodriguez’s audience remains an interpretation.
Public praise shows interest—not audience-wide proof
The article cites judge comments and social media reactions as examples of support. These reactions do not establish how representative the enthusiasm is.
“Just like everybody else, I’m obsessed with you.”
Derek Hough · Judge, as quoted in Psychology Today
“I understand why you’re becoming a national obsession.”
Bruno Tonioli · Judge, as quoted in Psychology Today
“We couldn’t be more obsessed with Guillermo and Witney’s Samba.”
Official Dancing With the Stars Instagram · As quoted in Psychology Today
The reported result has clear limits
The account describes continuation after one Samba, but leaves key numbers and later competition outcomes unreported.
What the account says
- The Samba received 13 out of 30 from the judges.
- Rodriguez and Carson received enough viewer votes to stay.
- Psychology Today proposes underdog appeal and BIRG as possible explanations.
- Online comments included claims that the show was rigged; no evidence substantiating them is provided.
What it cannot establish
- Vote totals, support compared with other pairs, or the size of the audience response.
- Why a particular person voted, or whether BIRG drove their choice.
- How much Rodriguez’s earlier television profile affected voting.
- Whether the pair reached the finale or won; the season’s final result is not included.
Whether Rodriguez and Carson remain in the competition, and how their next performance is received. Vote totals or other audience data would be needed to measure the scale of support.
Why Viewers Rally Behind an Underdog
The discussion matters because reality-TV outcomes are shaped not only by judged performance but also by audience voting. A contestant who attracts viewers through personality or narrative can remain in a competition even when judges give a modest score. Rodriguez’s reported Samba result illustrates that gap, although the available details do not establish how much his popularity affected the final outcome relative to other factors.
Psychology Today uses BIRG to describe one possible emotional reward for fans: people can feel some reflected pride or pleasure when someone they support succeeds. The term was introduced by social psychologist Robert Cialdini and colleagues in a 1976 study of football fans, as cited in the article. Applied to Rodriguez, the concept offers a way to understand why an audience might root for an unlikely contestant without suggesting that every vote is driven by the same motive.
The analysis also notes a possible downside to intense identification. If fans take another person’s wins as their own, losses may feel personal too. Research cited in Psychology Today describes “cutting off reflected failure,” or CORFing: people may distance themselves from a group or person after a loss. The article suggests that a desire to preserve the positive feeling of success could strengthen loyalty, but it does not establish that this dynamic explains any specific viewer’s behavior.
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From Kimmel Sidekick to Contestant
Rodriguez’s public profile began before his appearance on Dancing With the Stars. According to Psychology Today, he moved from work as a security guard to a recurring role alongside Jimmy Kimmel, building a following through a comic persona that does not depend on presenting himself as an expert. His existing familiarity with viewers may help explain why his dance-show story resonated, though the supplied material gives no audience research measuring that effect.
The psychological framework in the article comes from research on how people associate themselves with successful others. Cialdini and co-authors described basking in reflected glory in a 1976 paper based on studies of football fans. A later paper by Snyder, Lassegard and Ford, published in 1986, examined distancing after group success and failure. Psychology Today applies those ideas to celebrity and competition fandom; that application is an interpretation, not a finding that the studies directly tested Rodriguez’s viewers.
The article also reports supportive reactions in comments on a Deadline story and quotes praise from judges Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli. These examples show public enthusiasm, but they do not establish how representative those comments or reactions are of the full audience.
“Just like everybody else, I’m obsessed with you.”
— Derek Hough, Dancing With the Stars judge, as quoted in the Psychology Today article
What the Vote Figures Do Not Show
The account does not give viewer-vote totals, detailed score comparisons or the number of contestants still competing at the time. It is therefore not possible to calculate how large Rodriguez’s support was or to say precisely how it compared with the backing for other pairs. The analysis reports that he received enough votes to continue after the Samba, but does not supply the underlying figures.
Psychology Today’s explanation is a psychological interpretation, not a direct survey of Rodriguez’s fans. The available information does not establish why any particular person voted for him, whether BIRG was a major factor, or how much his earlier television profile influenced the result. The material also says some viewers accused the show of being rigged, but offers no evidence substantiating those accusations; they should be treated as claims made in online comments, not as confirmed findings.
The season’s eventual outcome is not included in the supplied account. It remains unclear whether Rodriguez advanced further, reached the finale or won the competition.
The Competition’s Next Vote
Rodriguez and Carson’s immediate prospects depended on the next round of judges’ scores and audience votes. The Psychology Today article ends with the possibility that the pair could continue toward the show’s Mirrorball Trophy, but it does not report a later result or give a timetable for the next elimination.
For viewers following the story, the clearest next milestone is whether the pair stays in the competition and how their performances are received. Further results could show whether audience support continues, but vote totals or other audience data would be needed to assess its size. Until those details are available, the article’s account supports a narrower conclusion: Rodriguez’s likable underdog persona and possible BIRG appeal are explanations proposed for his popularity, not a definitive account of why he is advancing.
Key Questions
Why has Guillermo Rodriguez become popular on Dancing With the Stars?
Psychology Today points to his underdog story, apparent authenticity and willingness to acknowledge that dancing is not his strength. The article also offers BIRG as a possible explanation for why fans enjoy supporting someone who is succeeding.
What does BIRG mean?
Basking in reflected glory describes people associating themselves with another person’s or group’s success and sharing some of the positive feeling, even though they did not cause that success. The term was introduced in research by Robert Cialdini and colleagues in 1976.
Did Guillermo Rodriguez receive a high score for the Samba?
No. The Psychology Today article reports that the judges gave Rodriguez and Witney Carson 13 out of 30 for the Samba discussed. It says viewer voting was sufficient for them to continue, but does not provide the vote count.
Is there evidence that Dancing With the Stars was rigged to keep him on?
The article reports that some viewers made rigging accusations in online comments, but provides no evidence that the show was manipulated. Those comments are allegations, not confirmed facts.
Did Rodriguez win the competition?
The supplied account does not report the season’s final result. It describes him continuing in the competition at that point, leaving his eventual placement unclear.
Source: psychologytoday.com
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