Charli D'Amelio And Her Mom Are Set To Make History On Dancing With The Stars
Some of TikTok's biggest stars have built business empires by simply showing off their dance moves in bite-sized videos, so it was only a matter of time before "Dancing with the Stars" recruited some of the platform's most popular users to compete on the show.
On "Good Morning America," viewers leaned that two members of the D'Amelio family, Charli D'Amelio and her mother Heidi D'Amelio, will be joining the Season 31 cast. Charli is worth an estimated $20 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, so she certainly doesn't need the cash prize offered to the "DWTS" winner. However, she would get to waltz away with bragging rights and the opportunity to show off her mirrorball trophy on her family's Hulu reality series, "The D'Amelio Show."
The D'Amelios have a big enough following that the series scored a second season renewal, per Variety, so the mother-daughter duo could prove to be a force to be reckoned with in a reality competition that allows viewers to vote for their favorite contestants. Charli boasts over 146 million followers on TikTok, while her mom has her own respectable following of around 10 million fans, so the viewers will come. According to Deadline, far fewer viewers tuned in for the "Dancing with the Stars" Season 30 finale, which attracted 5.4 million eyeballs.
However, Charli and Heidi are bringing more to the table than their big fanbases — they've got the moves, and they're also making history.
Charli D'Amelio has already performed with a DWTS pro
As noted by "Good Morning America," Charli D'Amelio and Heidi D'Amelio will be the first-ever members of the same family to face off against each other on "Dancing with the Stars." In another first, the show is moving to the Disney+ platform, which could benefit the duo if more content consumers who get their entertainment online tune in for Season 31.
Heidi used to dance competitively, and Charli followed in her mother's footsteps. "I've been training in dance since I was three. I actually started competing when I was five," Charli said on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon." She's good enough that she was invited to perform with "Dancing with the Stars" pro Derek Hough for his "Step Into... the Movies" special, which aired in March 2022. They recreated the iconic lift scene from the movie "Dirty Dancing."
Charli and Heidi have yet another weapon in their arsenal: Dixie D'Amelio. She has her own legion of 54 million TikTok followers whom she can encourage to vote for her sister and mom. As far as the D'Amelios' competition is concerned, on her Dance Dish Media blog, "DWTS" detective Kristyn Burtt has identified a number of others stars on this season's roster, including "American Idol" champ Jordin Sparks, multi-hyphenate entertainer Wayne Brady, and actor Trevor Donovan, so Charli and Heidi will have their work cut out for them. The complete cast will be revealed September 8 on "Good Morning America."