‘Vanderpump Rules’ Star Shares Full Details of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Snub

Heavy/Getty/ABC "Vanderpump Rules" cast members.

Scheana Shay revealed the real reason she became so upset when Ariana Madix was named a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars” season 32 last fall.

In a March 19, 2024 interview on Heather McDonald’s “Juicy Scoop” podcast, the “Vanderpump Rules”  star revealed that viewers didn’t get to see “the full conversations” she had regarding her feelings about Madix’s DWTS stint.

“Obviously you can’t see every minute of every conversation,” Shay said on the podcast. “The reason why it stung a little extra was because the previous season when Charli D’Amelio won, I’m very close with her family. I was at the finale— Teresa [Guidice],  Shangela, Gabby [Windey], I had so many friends on that season.”

“So we’re at the party after as they always do on the CBS lot,” she continued. “And I had two producers and a costume designer come up to me that night and they’re like, ‘Oh my God how have you not been on this show yet? They’re like where’s [casting director and producer] Deena Katz? We need to find Deena, we’ve got to introduce you, like you need to do next season!’”

Shay explained that Katz had already left to catch her flight to New York to do “ Good Morning America.” “So they were just like, ‘OK, we’re putting your name in,’” Shay explained. “And for months I kept in touch with these people. We’re friends on Instagram, I saw them at different D’Amelio parties and whatnot. And they’re like, ‘You’re right up there.’”

Scheana Shay Went So Far as to Take Dance Classes to Prepare for DWTS

In the “Vanderpump Rules” episode “Written in the Stars,” Shay told Lisa Vanderpump it was always her dream to be on DWTS and said it was a “punch to the gut” when she heard Madix was cast instead on the heels of her ex-boyfriend Tom Sandoval’s headline-making cheating scandal.

“This year I started taking dance class, I was preparing in case, you know, I did get it,” Shay said. The “Good as Gold” singer later said she can be  “happy” for Madix and “sad” for herself at the same time,” but she was still hit with backlash for not being a supportive friend.

On “Juicy Scoop,” Shay explained that after talking with DWTS producers in late 2022 she started taking  dance classes “just in case.” She shared that she actually took dance classes with Rachel Leviss, who was the other half of Sandoval’s cheating scandal.

“And then I got a call from my producer friend that first week in March.  He was like, ‘I just wanna say like you know we’re starting to put names out there. And yours was the first one that I was going to recommend. But after everything that happened I’m pretty sure they’re gonna reach out to Ariana,’” Shay recalled. “And I was like yeah. I was like, ‘Oh I’m so happy for her.’ But if it wasn’t because of  the scandal I was gonna be on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ I’ve seen the chatter online. I’m like, no for months producers are like ‘Alright next season, next season.”

The online chatter came after Shay broke down in the “Vanderpump Rules” season 11 episode “Saw it on the Graham,” as she talked about Madix’s lucky DWTS break.

“Her getting ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ she knew how bad I wanted that,” Shay confided to co-star Lala Kent. “And I told her, ‘I am so genuinely happy for you. I told her I will be there every [expletive] Monday you want me there. She does deserve everything she is getting right now.”

Ariana Madix Said Her DWTS Role Could Help Her Co-Stars Get on the Show

Madix landed in third place on DWTS with pro dancer Pasha Pashkov in November 2023. She wasn’t privy to all of Shay’s comments until watching the current season of “Vanderpump Rules.”

During an appearance on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” on March 12,  Madix reacted to Shay’s remarks. “I mean on one hand, I can totally understand being happy for a friend while also feeling like, oh you did really want this thing for yourself,” Madix said. “But on the other hand, my thought process is that, if one person from our show gets on it, wouldn’t that help someone else from our show get on it? So you know, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, And that’s kind of where I’m at with that.”

Fans are divided on seeing Shay on the ABC celebrity dancing competition. On the March 7 episode of “Watch What Happens Live,” host Andy Cohen posed a “Work the Polls” question that asked, “Would you want to see Scheana on ‘Dancing with the Stars?’”

The final poll results were 53 percent “yes” for Shay to join “Dancing With the Stars” in a future season.

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