Zendaya recently reflected on her 2013 participation in “Dancing with the Stars,” expressing a wish she hadn’t taken the competition so seriously. In a recent interview, she admitted, “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 been like, ‘Eh, whatever.’ I was stressing myself out. I really went through it on that.”
The experience, while ultimately resulting in a second-place finish behind Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough, left a lasting impression on the then-16-year-old actress. She confessed to still harboring some resentment towards the loss: “Listen, I’m still harboring a little animosity about that. I felt that loss. Being on live television every week? It’s so scary.” The pressure of the competition, coupled with her young age, clearly took its toll.
Since her time on the show, Zendaya hasn’t revisited “Dancing with the Stars.” In an October interview with EW’s The Awardist podcast, she explained, “I didn’t really watch ‘Dancing with the Stars’ before I was on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ 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 further suggested that she may not have been the show’s ideal demographic. The intensity of the live performances, she concluded, overshadowed the enjoyment of the experience.