After participating in Dancing with the Stars years ago, Zendaya shared why she doesn’t watch the show.
The former Disney Channel star made history in 2013 when, at 16, she appeared as the youngest contestant on ABC’s dance competition show.
Over a decade after viewers saw her on the dancefloor, she’s become a household name actress thanks to her appearances on HBO’s Euphoria series and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man movies.
While DWTS may have helped her become more known at the time, she also described her participation as a “stressful experience.”
Her former dance partner has won the show several times with other celebrities after his season with Zendaya.
He also predicted she’ll have a significant win coming up in her career, adding to the awards she’s already won.
Zendaya no longer watches DWTS following her season
Zendaya recently appeared on Entertainment Weekly’s Awardist podcast and mentioned her time on DWTS. She indicated she’s not a longtime viewer of the show, although one person she’s close to is a big fan.
“I have not watched Dancing with the Stars since I was on. I didn’t really watch Dancing with the Stars before I was on Dancing with the Stars. I don’t think I was the target demographic. My grandma loves Dancing with the Stars — that’s her bag,” she admitted during the podcast.
The actress competed on Season 16 of the show and performed quite well, finishing as a runner-up with dance partner Val Chmerkovskiy. American Idol winner and country singer Kellie Pickler claimed the Mirrorball Trophy with her dance partner, Derek Hough.
“But yeah, I also think it was a very stressful experience,” Zendaya shared, adding, “I was like, ‘I don’t think I’m gonna be watching this anymore.'”
During an appearance on Nick Barrotta’s Here’s to Life Podcast (below), Val commented that he’d “definitely do over the Zendaya season” if he could.
“We didn’t end up winning, but I felt like I gave it my all,” he said.
Val had no regrets about working with Zendaya and praised her as “such an incredible talent.”
Val predicted a big win for Zendaya’s career after their ‘devastating’ DWTS loss
Zendaya’s former dance partner is participating on Season 33, as he’s working with Real Housewives star Phaedra Parks. Zendaya didn’t indicate that her partner made her DWTS season stressful, suggesting it was just the nature of the intense competition.
In a 2020 Instagram post, Val revealed a prediction he made that his celebrity dance partner would one day experience a significant win in her entertainment career.
“Nearly 8 years ago I got the pleasure to teach a brilliant young woman how to ballroom dance on @dancingabc. After giving it every ounce of our effort we came in second. Devastated by the loss I remember telling her that one day you’ll be winning an Oscar and part of the reason why will be this feeling of defeat you feel right now,” he wrote.
After working with stars like Sherri Shepherd and Kelly Monaco, Season 16 with Zendaya marked Val’s fourth season of DWTS. He experienced his first win in Season 20 when he and Rumer Willis won the show.
In Season 23, Val won again with Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez. He also won last season alongside actress Xochitl Gomez.
As of this writing, the Academy Award nominations are still several months away, but some have suggested Zendaya could receive a nod for the film Challengers. The former Disney Channel star already won two Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe for her role as Rue Bennett on HBO’s drama series Euphoria.
Dancing with the Stars airs Monday, October 8, and Tuesday, October 9, at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+.