Is 'Dancing With the Stars' Stacked Against Certain Celebs?

All's fair in love, war and 'Dancing With the Stars.' Well, maybe not 'DWTS.'

Since it premiered in 2005, 'DWTS' has offered us a mélange of the rhythmically challenged and the naturally talented, pitting, for example, a clumsy John Ratzenberger against a nimble Apolo Ohno.

While a wide array of contestants with varying skills certainly makes for good TV, we're beginning to wonder whether some celebrities are getting a raw deal when the judges score everyone based on the same criteria. This season, for example, 60-year-old, overweight Kirstie Alley is directly competing and being scored against chiseled 21-year-old pop star and basketball player Romeo. Is that really fair?

To investigate this situation, we went to the only people who know what's really going on -- those directly involved with the show. We asked past 'DWTS' underdogs Cloris Leachman, Debi Mazar and Steve-O the burning question: Is the competition stacked against certain celebrities?

Looking at the stats, it appears the show is skewed toward crowning as winners younger, more athletic and, often times, male performers. Over the past 11 seasons, five men have won the competition and an astonishing nine have placed second. Of all the winners, male or female, four were professional athletes, three were pop stars with dance experience and two were still-in-shape models. As for age, nine of 11 winners were under 40 at the time they won.

"When I got the call from my agent about doing the show, he told me they only wanted people who really didn't know how to dance," says 'Jackass' stuntman Steve-O, who adds with a laugh, "At this point, I consider that a blatant lie. That's just not true. There's some deceit going on."

Indeed. Even when it comes to "anomalies" who seemingly fall outside the typical front-runner criteria, like winners Jennifer Grey and Donny Osmond, there are not-so-hidden traces of the necessary skills needed to get a leg up in the competition.

For instance, Grey extensively trained for her 'Dirty Dancing' role years ago, and she was still in amazing shape when she signed on to 'DWTS.' Meanwhile, former teen idol Osmond has starred in numerous Broadway musicals and basically glided through the weeks on his "entertainment value" rather than having immaculate footwork.

As 'Entourage' star Mazar points out, it came naturally for Osmond to "pull out his beautiful smile, charm the ladies and wow the crowd." So, did contestants like one-legged activist Heather Mills, elderly astronaut Buzz Aldrin and deaf actor Marlee Matlin ever have a real shot at winning?

Looking back on the six weeks he stuck around season 8, Steve-O feels as though the judges grade the stars on a curve that creates a more level playing field than there actually is. "It's ridiculous to think people are scored on the same criteria," he says. "If you look at this season's cast and their skills, their skills vary a lot more than their scores do. And that makes it a better show."

Meanwhile, Mazar found the wildly varying skills during her three-week season 9 stint intimidating. "Snowboarder Louie Vito could do a backflip, and swimmer Natalie Coughlin could do a split and put her leg up over her head. So, sometimes it felt slightly unfair because my best moments were comedic moments. I looked like 'I Love Lucy' drunk in a tutu," she says, noting that when it came to her low scores, "Sometimes I felt like, geez, I wasn't that bad."

It's a sentiment that season 7, Emmy Award–winning fave Leachman shares. "I thought my scores were uncommonly low," says the seventh-place finisher with a laugh. "I don't think I ever deserved a four. But they can't give everyone a handicap. If someone's the best, let them be the best. We're not as good as the best, and that's OK. It's just fun."

But Steve-O didn't think the competition was all that fun, especially since he was newly sober and self-conscious at the time. "It was way more stressful than fun," he admits. "I wouldn't want to say it was a negative experience without recognizing that it was an important experience. Making it through such a stressful situation was a challenge, but it was a healthy challenge. I didn't have to do anything crazy; I just had to be me. But it was uncomfortable, man."

Speaking of men, both Leachman and Mazar agree that male competitors might have it a little easier when it comes to advancing week to week. More often than not, the female stars must leap, twirl, get thrown in the air and get dragged around like ragdolls. Meanwhile, the men can sometimes get away with just holding their pro partners' hands and standing still as the pros dance around them. (Case in point: Sugar Ray Leonard, who lasted several weeks this season despite his complete lack of rhythm because he put on a good show with partner Anna Trebunskaya.)

According to Mazar, "While I was on, I kept on thinking of that very famous quote about Ginger Rogers doing everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in heels. My partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy was always threatening he was gonna throw me down in a split. I have given birth, I'm in my 40s, and I know I can't do a split, so it never happened. The men also have a lot on their plates, so I'm sure not one guy there would tell you that he feels like it's easy."

Perhaps no one necessarily has it "easy," but it seems clear that certain celebs have a hard-to-ignore advantage going into the competition. This season, the odds-on front-runners are limber 22-year-old Disney star Chelsea Kane and toned footballer Hines Ward.

No matter how good or bad the contestants do, one thing's for sure: It certainly gets them a lot of attention. Leachman, Mazar and Steve-O all agree that the experience was nothing but positive, though none of them think that doing the show helped advance their respective careers. In fact, Steve-O claims the only thing it directly resulted in him doing was getting a new agent. (No joke.)

However, since appearing on 'DWTS,' Steve-O has starred in the $100-million blockbuster 'Jackass 3-D,' embarked on a one-man comedy tour and penned an upcoming memoir, 'Professional Idiot.' Mazar used every opportunity she got while on the show to promote her cooking blog, which she maintains with husband Gabriele Corcos, and they have since starred in their own cooking show, 'Extra Virgin.' Meanwhile, Leachman went on to appear in the primetime sitcom 'Raising Hope.' So, as Mazar admits, "Being on the show certainly didn't hurt."

While the deck may in fact be unfairly stacked, everyone comes out a winner. As a viewer, you've got to give them props for the steps they've taken -- even if they're bad ones -- and how they're willing to put themselves out there ... all for that mirrorball trophy.

'Dancing With the Stars' airs Mondays at 8PM ET and Tuesdays at 9PM ET on ABC.