Maybe THIS Is Why Mario Didn't Win

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

17 Nov 2006 12:33 AM

At about 8:00:02 p.m. last night the phone rang. I picked up to hear a voice on the other end hiss: "Mario was robbed." It took me a minute to figure out that the voice belonged to my friend and former colleague and that "Mario" was Mario Lopez from "Dancing with the Stars" (and not my cousin Mario). Yes, sadly, "Super Mario" couldn't come up with enough votes to declare victory and walk away with the blinged out disco ball trophy, but now word comes that there may been something besides lack of fan support that could have skewed the show's results.

According to news reports, fans of "Dancing with the Stars" who tried to call in and vote for Lopez on Tuesday night may have talked with a Missouri woman instead. (GASP!) Apparently, hundreds of people called Carmen Allen's cell phone by accident.

Ironically, Allen had never watched the show and told reporters she couldn't understand why she was getting so many hang-up calls on her cellphone Tuesday night.

"Finally, I just said, 'Well, maybe I just need to quit saying 'Hello' and just pick up the phone and say, 'Who are trying to get a hold of?'" Allen said.

The problem: Allen's cellphone number was the same one callers were using to try to vote for Lopez following his last dances. The phone numbers were identical except for the area codes-"Dancing with the Stars" viewers were asked to call a 1-800 number.

Allen told reporters she received 200 calls in one hour Tuesday night and when she turned off her cellphone the calls continued. She said she had 80 messages in her voice mail when she checked Wednesday morning.

"When I started getting really irritated, I just started picking up the phone and saying, 'You need to dial 1-800.' And they were saying, 'We are.' And it was just, it was like a person would call back three or four times," Allen said.

In the end, the calls ate away at Allen's cellphone minutes (which her service provider promised to give back), but she says at least now she knows who Mario Lopez is.

Related Article:

Emmitt and Mario: Dancing Up a Storm

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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Libby Pelham (12876) 17 Nov 2006 08:57 AM

See, I knew there was a legitimate reason Mario the Magnificent didn't win :-)

Valorie Delp (49340) 17 Nov 2006 08:29 PM

Hmmm. . .I don't know. I liked Emmitt's samba (atrociously pronounced incorrectly on the show--a personal pet peave!) better than Mario's breakdancing. That poor woman though.

Libby Pelham (12876) 17 Nov 2006 08:46 PM

Oh, RealityTV Magazine is also reporting that the lines were supposed to be open until midnight PST and they tried calling BOTH contestant lines at 11:30 pm EST and got the message that said something like "Thanks for calling, but the phone lines are now closed." Hum...

Tristi Pinkston (10839) 15 Dec 2006 09:50 AM

I didn't hear about this, but it would explain a lot! That poor woman . . .