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'Dancing' fans complained to FCC about Bristol's success

When Bristol Palin’s “Dancing With the Stars” streak took her further than some viewers believed was fair, those fans complained. No doubt many of them took their gripes to water coolers, blogs and social networking sites, but according to the Smoking Gun, others took them all the way to the Federal Communications Commission.Among the complaints sent to the FCC were accusations of rigged vot

When Bristol Palin’s “Dancing With the Stars” streak took her further than some viewers believed was fair, those fans complained. No doubt many of them took their gripes to water coolers, blogs and social networking sites, but according to the Smoking Gun, others took them all the way to the Federal Communications Commission.

Among the complaints sent to the FCC were accusations of rigged votes, Tea Party collusion and at least one claim that the dance contest was “encouraging and promoting teen pregnancy by allowing Bristol Palin to compete for the trophy.”

All of the objections published to the Smoking Gun were filed with the FCC on Nov. 17, the day after frequent top-scorer Brandy got the ballroom boot despite dancing better than Palin did during the show’s semifinals. And according to one fan, Brandy wasn’t the only one who could have outperformed Palin in a ballroom battle.

“My 96-year-old mother-in-law can dance better than Ms. Palin,” the viewer said in a complaint lodged with the FCC.

Palin wasn’t the only on-air personality to earn a mention in the various federal documents. “Dancing” judge Carrie Ann Inaba inspired more than one viewer to write in due to her choice to give the teen-mom-turned-abstinence-advocate a post-dance hug.

“This unfair treatment was a very deliberate act on the part of the management of ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ as no other dancer was called over for a hug,” one complaint read. “The (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) has very strict rules about this and I want this adhered to over the airwaves. This hug was a signal for the GOP/Tea Party supporters of Sarah Palin to ‘stuff’ the vote for Bristol Palin…”

Despite the complaints, Palin waltzed her way to the finals and a third-place finish.

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