Hilaria Baldwin reflected on the challenges she faced during her time on season 34 of Dancing With the Stars.
“One of the hard things — especially people who come from the ballroom world, which I came from — was the drama,” Baldwin, 42, exclusively told Us at the Minky Couture Takes NYC VIP Red Carpet Celebration with Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea in New York City on Friday, October 23.
Baldwin said she “became the villain” because of her past ballroom experience, adding, “Not that it was a secret. They knew that going [in]. But people have very strong feelings about dancers who go [on] there.”
The reality TV personality, who was paired with pro Gleb Savchenko in 2025, learned some important lessons from the competition.
“We’re raised having this stuff drilled into us by the top dance teachers in the world,” she shared. “Sometimes people forget this is all about the celebrity’s journey, but these pros that are on there are some of the best dancers that have ever existed.”
Baldwin specifically gushed over Val Chmerkovskiy, who was recently suspended from season 35 for one week after making controversial comments toward judge Carrie Ann Inaba. “I have known him since we’re teenagers and Val is a savant,” she told Us. “Val’s an amazing dancer. Maks Chmerkovskiy and Gleb too. Gleb is an amazing dancer. They know what they’re doing.”
Baldwin weighed in on the ballroom drama — which began when Inaba, 58, called out a lift in Jenna Johnson‘s Super Bowl Night dance with Harry Shum Jr. Chmerkovskiy later defended his wife, claiming he almost went “Fresh Prince” on Inaba.
“We typically dance on a tour with a lot of other dancers in a ballroom competition. This is a show competition. That’s the format of dancing tours,” Baldwin said. “You could interpret it whether it was a lift or not. Ultimately, it’s a TV show. It’s gonna be OK. It’s a big family and they are all gonna get together and it is going to be fine. They’ve known each other a long time, but I always remember that these pros are some of the top dancers ever and I don’t ever want that to be lost on the audience.”
Baldwin also weighed in on how social media has affected DWTS from season to season.
“Social media has made it super fun and very popular. They are one of the shows that’s been able to make social media make people watch a show in a time when it’s hard to have people watch TV,” she noted to Us. “I think that it’s brilliant.”
As the show’s popularity continues to grow, Baldwin urged fans to be respectful of pros and contestants alike. “Everybody again has to realize these are humans,” she added. “The celeb and the dancers and the people that are cleaning the floor in between. All the people who are doing the sets and the costumes and everything, it’s a whole operation. We just can’t dehumanize it and some of it gets to be a little bit of that.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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