Zendaya Reflects on DWTS Season 16 Loss to Kellie Pickler

It’s been more than 10 years since Zendaya competed on Dancing With the Stars, but she’s still upset about her season’s final results.

The actress, 28, famously competed on season 16 of the ABC competition series in 2013. After a season full of high scores, she and her partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, ultimately lost to Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough.

“Listen, I’m still harboring a little animosity about that,” Zendaya told W Magazine in an interview published on Friday, January 3. “I felt that loss. I was only 16 years old, and it was highly stressful.”

Competing on live television every week was something Zendaya told the outlet was “so scary,” adding, “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 [show].”

Zendaya went on to note that these days, she doesn’t watch DWTS despite being on it. She first made the revelation in an interview on “The Awardist” podcast

“I have not watched Dancing With the Stars since I was on [it],” she said in October 2024. “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, like, loves Dancing With the Stars. That’s her bag.”

She continued: “I also think it was a very stressful experience. I was like, ‘I don’t think I’m gonna be watching this anymore.’”

Zendaya’s upset over season 16’s results is something she shares with Chmerkovskiy, 38, who has since gone on to win the mirrorball trophy three times with past partners Rumer Willis, Laurie Hernandez and Xochitl Gomez.

“My biggest heartbreak was on Dancing With the Stars, not winning with Zendaya, honestly. That was a huge heartbreak for me because she was 16,” he told Entertainment Tonight in March 2018. “I wanted this to be such a huge moment for her. She worked so hard, and I really wanted her to lift that trophy and jump-start her career. And she didn’t lift the trophy and I felt heartbroken about that.”

Luckily, as Chmerkovskiy put it, Zendaya’s time on DWTS “jump-started her career.” He added: “That’s when you learn that it’s not necessarily always about winning or losing, it’s really about learning through the process and then using those tools to further yourself down the road.”

Related: Zendaya Doesn’t Know ‘How Much of a Choice’ She Had About Child Stardom

Zendaya became famous as a teenager, but she now has mixed feelings about working as a child actor. “I don’t know how much of a choice I had,” the actress, 27, told Serena Williams during a conversation for Vogue’s May cover story, published on Tuesday, April 9. “I have complicated feelings about kids and fame […]

Prior to DWTS, Zendaya was best known for her roles on Disney Channel’s Shake It Up. In the decade since, she has become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars with projects such as The Greatest Showman, Challengers, the Dune series and the Spider-Man franchise.

Back in 2020, Chmerkovskiy took to Instagram to congratulate Zendaya on becoming the youngest actress to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Euphoria (an award she also took home in 2022).

“I always knew you were special. Our season on DWTS, and now your continued success since 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’re a superstar, and always have been! Love you fam to many more wins in your life.”