It’s hard to believe that reality TV shows like Dancing With the Stars have stirred up controversy. A show that brings together professional dancers and celebrities on one stage to compete for the coveted mirrorball trophy sounds like a fun-filled experience for anyone, but that’s sadly not the case for a few DWTS alums.
Season 33 saw the highly controversial con artist Anna Delvey get eliminated. She went on to state that her experience was not what she expected. In fact, she felt that she was “exploited” by the reality dance competition series. Casting Anna was met with backlash itself, so people are finding it hard to believe anything that Anna has to say.
However, a few other former contestants have also gone on to admit their time on the show wasn’t the greatest. In fact, one actress who came close to winning it all stated she hasn’t watched the show since she competed.
5 Zendaya
DWTS Season 16
Actress Zendaya was one of the youngest celebrities to ever compete on Dancing With the Stars. When she competed in 2013 alongside professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy, she was only 16 and known for her Disney roles. Now a successful Hollywood actress, it’s safe to say that she wouldn’t be competing for the mirrorball trophy today.
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly’s Awardist podcast in October, Zendaya admitted that she does not look back at her DWTS experience fondly. The Dune star called it “a very stressful experience” and added, “I was like, I don’t think I’m gonna be watching this anymore.” In fact, Zendaya said that she does not watch the show and had not watched it since she competed.
“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.”
Zendaya did exceptionally well in her season. She placed runner-up after losing out to singer Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough.
4 Hope Solo
DWTS Season 13
The U.S. women’s national soccer team goalie stunned DWTS fans when she revealed pretty serious allegations against her former partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy. According to Us Weekly, in her 2012 memoir, Solo: A Memoir of Hope, the athlete detailed Maksim getting physical with her during rehearsals.
“He manhandled me in rehearsals from the start, pushing me, whacking my stomach, bending my arms roughly.”
The allegations were astounding because Hope and Maksim went far in the competition. The pair ended up in fourth place in Season 13. The outlet reported that Maksim denied his former partners disturbing remarks, but had his own choice of words for her, calling her a “s***** person.” Ouch.
3 Mischa Barton
DWTS Season 22
Actress Mischa Barton was happy she was the second celebrity to be eliminated on DWTS Season 22. In an interview with The Ringer in 2016, she shared that she went on the show because she was told she would have creative control regarding wardrobe, which never happened. In addition, she compared the show to The Hunger Games and she and her partner, Artem Chigvinstev, constantly butted heads.
“Ugh, I had no idea it would be so bad. I got told off by my dancer. I was supposed to control the costumes, I was told I could do the design aspect of it, that’s kind of the reason why I agreed to do it. That didn’t happen.”
Mischa added, “It wasn’t collaborative like a choreographer on a film set. ….I was so confused by it. It was like The Hunger Games. It was all a popularity contest. It was awful. I was so glad to get kicked off.”
2 Charity Lawson
DWTS Season 32
The Bachelorette’s Charity Lawson did not have a terrible experience on DWTS. However, it was the disturbing actions of those watching her compete that took a toll on her. While speaking to Cheryl Burke on her Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast in July, Charity revealed that she received death threats and was bullied for being cast on the dance show. The reality star believed it had to do with the color of her skin.
“Honestly, I’m very surprised, because quite literally, while on Dancing With the Stars was great, I literally went through hell and back with my mental health on that show.”
Sadly, Charity admitted that she faced similar hateful responses when she was named the Bachelorette for Season 20, so she was used to it. However, the comments she saw online were far worse on DWTS.
1 Anna Delvey
DWTS Season 33
Having con artist Anna Delvey appear as a contestant on Season 33 of DWTS stirred up an intense backlash by both viewers and other celebrities alike. Anna was partnered with professional dancer Ezra Sosa and showcased her moves with two dances before she and Tori Spelling faced a double elimination. After being the first pair to be eliminated, Anna summed up her experience with one word when host Julianne Hough asked her what she took away from her time on the show. “Nothing,” the fake heiress shared.
In an interview with NBC News after her elimination, Anna spoke negatively about her experience on DWTS. Anna believed that the show cast her to get better ratings.
“I feel that the show so obviously used me to drive up the ratings, that they never had any plans to give me any chance to grow and only cared about exploiting me for attention. It was predatory of them to try [to] make me feel inadequate and stupid all while I did get progressively better yet they chose to disregard that.”
Despite being axed, Anna has major projects in the works, including a documentary series and a memoir. She even walked a fashion runway for New York Fashion Week, ankle monitor and all.
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