Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis reflected on how her age affected her while competing on Dancing With The Stars Season 35 after being eliminated in week 2.
De Laurentiis, 56, and her DWTS pro partner Alan Bersten, 32, were voted out during Viral Hits Night for their salsa to “Bella Ciao” by Becky G when they received a low score of 12 out of 30 from the ABC show’s judges.
She was the third celebrity to be eliminated from the famous ballroom, and she spoke with DWTS season 34 alum Danielle Fishel on her podcast about what it felt like to be the oldest contestant and how her age may have impacted her odds on the dance competition show. It comes as we share inside Julia Stiles’ week from hell on DWTS, from low scores to rib injury.
De Laurentiis and Bersten appeared on Fishel’s podcast Danielle With… on Wednesday, Sept. 30, and claimed that DWTS fans wanted to “get rid of her” because of her age.
Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten were eliminated from DWTS in Week 2 (Image: Getty Images)
“I also wanted to talk about one of my least favorite parts of Dancing with the Stars fan discourse, and that is age,” the 45-year-old Boy Meets World actress said before saying that she saw how she, Andy Richter, 59, and Elaine Hendrix, 55, were treated last season due to their age.
“If you are over 40 on this show, people treat you like you might as well be on your deathbed,” Fishel said during the podcast episode.
The former Food Network chef said she felt hyper-aware of her age while competing on DWTS.
“It didn’t dawn on me until it dawned on me because everybody was like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re the oldest one of everybody,'” De Laurentiis said.
Giada De Laurentiis claimed DWTS fans wanted to “get rid of her” due to her age (Image: Getty Images)
“And then it was like, ‘Oh, let’s get rid of her. Come on. She’s the oldest. Let’s get rid of her,'” she continued claiming that the DWTS fandom essentially didn’t vote for her due to her age.
“I know Elaine had a lot of those same issues,” De Laurentiis said. “And they did get rid of me eventually. I mean, pretty soon, pretty quickly.”
She then acknowledged that she understands why DWTS fans view the show as a “young person’s game.” De Laurentiis added that the hard work and stamina required to compete on the show may lead viewers to believe that older contestants cannot keep up with the pace. She noted that “clearly,” older contestants can do it.
Over the show’s 35 seasons, there have been multiple winners over the age of 40. The oldest male celebrity to win was Donny Osmond in season 9, who was 51 at the time and is now 68. The oldest female celebrity to win was Jennifer Grey in season 11, who was 50 at the time and is now 66.
In recent years, younger celebrity contestants have been winning the competition, including Robert Irwin, 22, who won season 34, and Charli D’Amelio, 22, who won season 31.
“I think it’s awesome to do, no matter what age you are,” she continued. “And I think that you learn so many valuable lessons and things that you learn about yourself. You also gain a lot of self-confidence in it once you see yourself actually doing it.”
De Laurentiis added that she believes people should push themselves to “do scary things every decade” because “it keeps you alive and it keeps you moving forward.”
“And it gives you the self-confidence that you need, because I think society kind of bangs you in the head with like, ‘You’re too old for this, you’re too old for that.’ But, like, you’re not,” she added.
De Laurentiis’ time on DWTS was cut short after just two weeks of dances.
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