Despite her dancing skills, Zendaya did not bring home the Mirror Ball Trophy when she was on Dancing With The Stars back in 2013. Country singer Kellie Pickler won the season, while Zendaya came in second — a slight she is still “harboring” some resentment over, according to a January interview.
During a conversation with W Magazine, published Jan. 3, Zendaya admitted that she no longer tunes into the ABC reality TV show. “I don’t watch Dancing With the Stars, actually,” she told the outlet. “Listen, I’m still harboring a little animosity about [not winning]. I felt that loss. I was only 16 years old, and it was highly stressful.”
For Zendaya, being on the show was not quite as fun as it appears onscreen. She continued, “Being on live television every week? It’s so scary. I took it very seriously, which, in retrospect, I wish I didn’t. I wish I’d enjoyed it a little bit more and just was like, ‘Eh, whatever.’ You know what I mean? But I was stressing myself out. I really went through it on that.”
The Challengers actor has previously recalled what it was like to compete on the show. In October 2024, Zendaya discussed her “very stressful” time on DWTS during an appearance on Entertainment Weekly‘s Awardist podcast.
“I have not watched Dancing With the Stars since I was on,” Zendaya said at the time. “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. But yeah, I also think it was a very stressful experience. I was like, I don’t think I’m gonna be watching this anymore.”
She may not care for watching Dancing With The Stars anymore, but that doesn’t mean that Zendaya has stopped indulging in all types of reality television. “I love, unfortunately, Love Is Blind, and then I feel bad for watching it. So it’s a guilty pleasure, I suppose,” she told W. “It’s brutal. I’m like, ‘Dang, you guys know you’re on camera?’”
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