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Hilaria Baldwin is advocating for herself in the aftermath of her Dancing with the Stars exit.
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, the mom of seven appeared on an episode of the Too Much podcast to discuss her experience on and elimination from the competition series last month. Baldwin, 41, and her pro partner Gleb Savchenko danced their final performance on Oct. 7; days later, she said she was “bullied off the show” during an Instagram Live.
Too Much host Emma Paige Klipstein asked Baldwin about the type of “bullying” she experienced, and the former yoga teacher explained what she describes as a “campaign” by viewers wielding their 10 fan votes against her.
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“They’re gonna vote for all the couples besides me, or besides X person. So that suppresses your fan vote,” she explained, adding that other competitors can be targets. “This is not just like a me thing,” said Baldwin.
Klipstein then asked how her guest knew about the alleged plotting. “It was because they were reaching out to everybody to do it. You open TikTok, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, this is like this sad,'” said Baldwin. “It hurts your feelings.”
The wife of Alec Baldwin said she decided to speak up about the issue because she knew it had happened to other people “in the past.”
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“And I don’t care. I’ll be the person who’s crying in front of the world because I’m gonna show my humanity. Some people are gonna like that and some people are gonna make fun of me more for that,” said the TLC reality star, who did indeed break down in tears after her emotional last appearance on Dancing with the Stars.
She continued to highlight her positive journey on the series and clarified that there was no bullying coming from inside the competition. “Everybody on the show is lovely,” she shared.
Of the external bullying, Baldwin continued, “Now, is this something where we have to go around and feel bad for me? We don’t. I had the time of my life. I’m only a better, happier person because I did the show.”
After she and Savchenko finished their run on the show’s 34th season, Baldwin told PEOPLE she felt “so grateful” and “so proud” of her fellow contestants. “I’m going to be rooting for them,” she said.
Explaining her tearful reaction to elimination, Baldwin said, “The only reason I’m sad is because I was so happy. I was so happy. And so, that’s an important thing to remember. Sadness comes from missing something that was wonderful.”
