7 Celebrities Who Said No to Dancing with the Stars

The ABC Reality Competition show Dancing with the Stars is returning for its 28th season on September 16th. The cast for season 28 will be announced sometime later this summer.

For the past 26 (27 if you count that Season 15 was the All-Stars season) seasons, viewers have seen numerous celebrities and their professional dance partners (who have all been pros on Dancing with the Stars for multiple seasons) compete for their chance to win the coveted Mirrorball Trophy.

Although many have accepted offers to participate on the show, there are several celebrities who have turned down the opportunity to compete on Dancing with the Stars as well. Some celebrities have rejected the offer either due to a lack of interest or busy schedules. In some cases, some celebrities rejected the chance to compete on Dancing With The Stars multiple times before eventually saying yes and competing on a season. Here are 7 celebrities who said no to being on Dancing with the Stars:

1. Russell Wilson:

The Super Bowl Champion Quarterback of The Seattle Seahawks revealed in an interview that he rejected the opportunity to appear on Dancing with The Stars twice. His reasons for saying no to Dancing with The Stars both times was in order to focus on his NFL Career.

The first offer came after Wilson’s rookie season in 2013. Meanwhile, the second one came a year later, right after the five-time Pro Bowler and the Seattle Seahawks crushed the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. Despite saying no to competing on Dancing with The Stars twice, Wilson stated in the same interview that he was a fan of the show and hoped to appear on a future season later on.

2. Lindsay Lohan:

The Parent Trap and Mean Girls star was offered a chance to compete on Dancing with The Stars Season 16 in the spring of 2013. The producers of Dancing with The Stars wanted Lohan on the show so badly that she was reportedly offered a $550,000 paycheck. This loaded paycheck offer made by the show’s producers to the actress was way more than what celebrity participants are usually paid.

Typically, all participating celebrities are initially paid $125,000 for signing up. For those who make it to Weeks 3 and 4, they get paid an additional $10,000 each week and earn another $15,000 if they make it to Week 5. For those who make it to Weeks 6 and 7, they get an additional $20,000 each week. The celebrities who make it to Weeks 8 and 9 earn an extra $50,000 each week. The 3 celebrities who make the finale will leave the show with the maximum payout of $360,000, regardless of who wins. The only bonus that the winning celebrity gets over the runner-up and third-place finisher is the Mirror Ball Trophy.

Despite being offered the $550,000 paycheck as a base payment, Lohan still said no to appearing on Dancing with The Stars.

3. Ben Higgins:

As of Season 27, there have been several members (4 former Bachelors, 1 former Bachelorette, and 2 contestants from either The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, or Bachelor in Paradise) from The Bachelor Franchise (also on ABC) that have competed on Dancing with the Stars.

Although the cast for Season 28 has yet to be announced yet, Hannah Brown, the Season 15 (and most recent) Bachelorette, is rumored to be one of the participating celebrities. Her runner-up, Tyler Cameron, whose ‘romantic relationship’ with Brown is too complicated to explain post-show, is also rumored to be part of the cast as well.

Season 20 Bachelor Ben Higgins was offered a spot on the show soon after his season finished airing (the spring season of Dancing with The Stars typically starts a week after The Bachelor ends) in 2016. Higgins rejected the offer to participate in the show as he wanted to focus on his engagement with then-fiancee Lauren Bushnell. At the time, the then-engaged couple could now be seen together in public with The Bachelor Season 20 being over.

4. Demi Moore:

The actress attended every taping of Season 20 of Dancing with the Stars as she cheered on her eldest daughter Rumer, who was one of that season’s celebrities competing. After Rumer won the Mirror Trophy, the Ghost star was reportedly offered a chance to compete in the following season. Her presence in the audience throughout all of Season 20 had fans hoping she would join the cast of Dancing with the Stars Season 21. Although she was close to accepting, Moore ended up turning down the offer.

5. Simone Biles:

Shortly after The Final Five’s successful campaign at the 2016 Summer Olympics (including a gold medal in the team competition), two of the team’s members, Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez, were offered spots to compete on Season 23 of Dancing with the Stars during Fall 2016.

Hernandez, who also won a silver at the Olympics, accepted the offer and would go on to win the Mirror Ball Trophy. Meanwhile, Biles, who also won three more golds and a bronze at the Summer Games, rejected the offer. She cited that her busy post-Olympics schedule was the reason why she said no. However, Biles didn’t rule out the possibility of competing on a future season. Biles did so, as she accepted a spot on Dancing with the Stars Season 24, where she was shockingly eliminated in fourth place.

6. Sylvester Stallone:

The Oscar-Nominated Actor was offered a chance to be part of the cast of Season 11 of the show during the Fall of 2010. However, Stallone said no to the opportunity.

7. Mark Zuckerberg:

Like Stallone, the CEO of Facebook was approached to appear on Season 11 of Dancing with the Stars. Zuckerberg declined, with reports saying that he wasn’t impressed at all by the offer.