Season 35 of DWTS included celebrities of different age ranges. But one contestant claimed that the younger stars had an unfair advantage. Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis broke her silence and addressed the age shaming that led to her early elimination. Keep reading for all the details.
Giada De Laurentiis, 56, Was Oldest Contestant On Season 35
Dancing With The Stars has geared itself toward the younger audience in recent years. The show started casting more social media influencers and encouraging cast members to utilize TikTok to create viral moments. However, the bread-and-butter of the show is its older audiences of Gen X and Boomers.
The Season 35 cast was broken up nearly evenly with 4 celebs in their 20s, 5 in their 30s and 5 in their 40s. However, only two celebrity contestants were in their 50s. Jimmy Kimmel’s sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, is 55. Despite landing in the bottom 3 every week in the competition so far, he’s still hanging on thanks to voters at home.
However, Giada De Laurentiis, 56, was sent home in Week 2. She had no idea that she was the oldest contestant on the season and now, she thinks that played a role in her elimination.
Beloved Food Network Star Breaks Silence On DWTS Age Shaming
Giada De Laurentiis made a name for herself on Food Network for her easy Italian recipes. She left the network in 2023 after two decades for a new chapter with Amazon Studios. She reportedly turned down joining DWTS for years until her daughter encouraged her to hit the dance floor. The chef was paired with Alan Bersten, who previously danced with rugby player Ilona Maher (Season 33) and actress Elaine Hendrix (Season 34.)
Alan and Giada were guests on Boy Meets World star Danielle Fishel’s podcast after their elimination. Danielle Fishel competed on Season 34 with pro dancer Pasha Pashkov.
“I also wanted to talk about one of my least favorite parts of Dancing with the Stars fan discourse, and that is age,” Danielle Fishel, 45, said. “If you are over 40 on this show, people treat you like you might as well be on your deathbed.”
“It didn’t dawn on me until it dawned on me because everybody was like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re the oldest one of everybody,’” Giada De Laurentiis responded. She went on to claim that her age played a role in her elimination. “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 said.
She compared her time on the show to Elaine Hendrix’s. “I know Elaine had a lot of those same issues. And they did get rid of me eventually. I mean, pretty soon, pretty quickly,” the Food Network alum said. Elaine Hendrix lasted much longer on the show. She made it to fifth place before getting sent home.
Giada De Laurentiis encouraged listeners to try new things, no matter their age. She loved the DWTS experience and wished she’d stayed longer. Do you agree with her that viewers didn’t vote for her because of her age?
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger