More than 10 years have passed since then Zendaya competed on Dancing With the Starsbut she is still upset about the final results of her season.
The actress, 28, competed on the 16th season of the ABC competition series in 2013. After a high-scoring season, she and her partner, Val Chmerkovskiyeventually lost to Kelly Pickler AND Derek Hough.
“Listen, I’m still holding a little animosity about it,” Zendaya said In the Magazine in an interview published on Friday, January 3. “I felt that loss. I was only 16 and it was very stressful.”
Competing on live television every week was something Zendaya told the outlet was “very scary,” adding, “I took it too seriously, which, in retrospect, I wish I hadn’t. I wish I had enjoy a little more and be like, “Eh, whatever.” But I was stressing myself out on that (show).
Zendaya
TheStewartofNY/FilmMagicZendaya went on to point out that these days, she doesn’t watch DWTS despite being in it. She first made the revelation in an interview on The Awardist podcast last year, saying she hasn’t tuned in since her season.
“I haven’t looked Dancing With the Stars since I was on (it),” she said in October 2024. “I wasn’t really watching it Dancing With the Stars before I was in Dancing With the Stars. I don’t think I was the target demographic. My grandmother loves it Dancing With the Stars. This is her bag.”
She continued: “I also think it was a very stressful experience. I said, “I don’t think I’m going to watch this again.”
Zendaya
Debra L Rothenberg/Getty ImagesZendaya’s frustration with the Season 16 results is something she shares with Chmerkovskiy, 38, who has since won the mirrorball trophy three times with past partners. Rumer Willis, Laurie Hernandez AND Xochitl Gomez.
“My biggest breakdown was in the heart Dancing With the Starsnot winning with Zendaya, honestly. That was a huge heartbreak for me because she was 16 years old,” he said Fun Tonight in March 2018. “I wanted this to be such a big moment for him. She worked so hard, and I really wanted her to lift that trophy and start her career. And she didn’t lift the trophy and I felt heartbroken about that.”
Luckily, as Chmerkovskiy said, Zendaya’s time has passed DWTS “Began her career”. He added: “That’s when you learn that it’s not always about winning or losing, it’s really about learning through the process and then using those tools to propel yourself down the road.”
Zendaya rose to fame as a teenager, but now she has mixed feelings about working as a child actress. “I don’t know how many choices I had,” the 27-year-old actress told Serena Williams during an interview for the May cover of Vogue , out Tuesday, April 9. “I have complicated feelings about children and fame (… )
Forward DWTSZendaya was best known for her roles on the Disney Channel Shake It Up. In the decade that followed, she became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars with projects such as The greatest showman, The challengers, Dune series and Spider-Man exclusivity.
In 2020, Chmerkovskiy took to Instagram to congratulate Zendaya on becoming the youngest actress to win an Emmy Award for Lead Actress in a Drama Series for EUFOR (an award she also took home in 2022).
“I always knew you were special. Our season continues DWTSand now your continued success since then has brought me (a) ridiculous amount of joy,” he captioned a clip of one of their performances. “I’m so proud of you Z! Youngest ever winner of an Emmy for a leading role. You are a superstar and always have been! I wish you fame for many more victories in your life.”
