Report: Two Surprising Stars Joining Dancing With The Stars Season 23

Published on August 25, 2016.

Adam Larkey / ©ABC / Courtesy Everett Collection

Next month, Dancing With the Stars season 23 will begin and fans are getting anxious for the announcement of the lineup of stars competing.

While there has been no set list revealed yet or any definite confirmations, there are some rumblings for those who will compete and some might be surprising!

It is being reported that Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte has signed on for season 23, but now opinions on the swimmer have changed following his Rio robbery scandal that has dominated headlines. According to reports, Lochte actually signed on before the Rio Olympics and the consequent scandal so now many are wondering if perhaps ABC is questioning their decision to have him compete, while some think being on Dancing With the Stars will be good for Lochte after the scandal. “Doing DWTS will be great for Ryan’s image!” a source told Us Weekly. “He will be able to show America that he’s a good guy who made a mistake. He’s still an Olympic champion! He will be great on the show.”

As well as Lochte, insiders are also saying that controversial star Amber Rose will be joining the season in hopes of promoting her late-night VH1 talk show. Some other stars rumored to be targeted by DWTS producers to join the season include Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, as well as former Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher and Disney star Jake T. Austin.

As for the pros, fans are ecstatic to learn that Maksim Chmerkovskiy is making his return! The fan-favorite and longtime DWTS “bad boy” has confirmed his return to the ballroom as a pro after last competing in season 18 and winning the trophy with Meryl Davis. Other confirmed pros include Val Chmerkovskiy, Gleb Savchenko, Witney Carson, Artem Chigvintsev, Sharna Burgess, Lindsay Arnold, Sasha Farber and Allison Holker.