Rylee Arnold has reacted to the online speculation that she won’t return for Dancing With the Stars’ potential season 35.
“I definitely feel pressure, [and] I think every single dance I’m [choreographing] has to be good. I feel like I have to present myself,” Arnold, 20, told Julianne Hough on the Thursday, November 20, episode of Hough’s The Morning After Show. “There’s been a lot of things this year [and] people saying I’m not coming back next season … or people saying I don’t know how to teach or do these things.”
She continued, “I’m trying to understand that [is] just noise.”
Throughout DWTS season 34, Arnold was the subject of rampant criticism about her partnership with Pentatonix singer Scott Hoying and whether she was equipped to teach him how to ballroom dance. Others claimed that Arnold’s position as a pro is on the chopping block for the following year.
Dancing With the Stars pro Rylee Arnold made the difficult decision to skip the upcoming live tour. “So sad I won’t be on the DWTS tour this year,” Arnold, 20, wrote via her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, October 7. “Being on tour the last two years was seriously the most amazing experience ever. I’ve made […]
“We don’t know if we’re gonna be on the show until the summertime,” Arnold said. “I would absolutely love to do another season — if not a bunch of more seasons — if they want me there. I think hearing that noise from [different] sources that probably aren’t even true is super, super hard.”
For Arnold, it was especially difficult navigating the online discourse during the ongoing season 34.
“I [am] just trying to give myself grace and know that I’m growing,” she stated. “I am in my own position, and there are so many pros [who] have been here way longer than I have. Of course, they know more than I do [and] they have experience way more than I have, which is so normal.”
Arnold also isn’t trying to compare herself to the other DWTS dancers who have longer tenures in the ballroom.
“[I am] just staying in my lane, doing the very best I can,” she said. “I think that’s the most important part. I just try to remember that I am living a dream that I’ve had since I was a little girl, and I’m so grateful that I’m in the position I’m in.”
Arnold joined DWTS for 2023’s season 32 months after graduating from high school.
Former Dancing With the Stars pro Lindsay Arnold is not here for criticism from viewers after the season 34 premiere. “Y’all are mean. The amount of videos I’ve seen [that are] literally trashing the pros, the troupe, the hosts and judges,” Arnold, 31, said in a TikTok video shared Thursday, September 18. “It’s making me […]
“I’m going to look back one day, and I’m not going to focus on what other people have said,” Arnold said. “I’m going to focus on the fact that I was so genuinely happy in this moment and just so proud of what I was doing.”
Arnold is currently in her third season as a pro, which came with an onslaught of critical comments about her teaching style.
“There have been so many opinions and other things,” she recalled. “Yeah, we are in the position to get that because we’re putting out our choreography and our work every single week for people to judge, but it’s definitely [had a] toll on me this year, but at the same time, I think it’s fueled me. I’m still learning, and I feel like I have done a lot these past three seasons.”
Arnold concluded, “I have put my best foot forward each and every season. I have learned so much from past pros on the seasons now. I’m still learning, but it’s also exciting to me and I love it.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET, with new episodes streaming the next day on Hulu.
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