‘Dancing With the Stars’: TikTok Star Charli D’Amelio & Mother Heidi Join Season 31 Cast (VIDEO)
TikTok star Charli D’Amelio and her mother, Heidi D’Amelio, are the first official cast members of Dancing With the Stars Season 31, marking the first time a mother-daughter duo have competed together on the reality series.
Their casting was announced Wednesday, September 7 on Good Morning America. The stars of The D’Amelio Show shared the story of how they were cast in the competition series with Michael Strahan, saying the opportunity came about while filming their Hulu reality series (coming back for Season 2 on September 28).
“We were filming our Hulu show at the time, and all of a sudden, they were like, PR wanted Charli and I on a Zoom right now. We thought we were getting canceled,” Heidi said. “I was in shock, for myself.” Charli couldn’t believe it either.
“I thought they were joking,” she said. The rest of the Dancing With the Stars Season 31 cast will be announced on Thursday, September 8 on Good Morning America. The season kicks off on Monday, September 19 on Disney+ — the first reality competition series to air live on a streaming platform.
JUST ANNOUNCED: @charlidamelio and her mother @heididamelio are heading to the ballroom for this season of @officialdwts! #DWTShttps://t.co/cRmJeEYAIp pic.twitter.com/uLv7ZBRyqF
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 7, 2022
While they’re taking on the adventure together, Charli and Heidi will be competing separately for the mirrorball trophy. Charli, a trained competitive dancer, teased that older sister Dixie D’Amelio “better be” cheering for her, while dad Marc D’Amelio’s vote is still up in the air.
The TikTok star also joked that she can’t dish out too much “smack talk” to her mom during the competition because “I’m 18, but she can ground me if she really wants to. I can’t be too harsh!” And as her joint videos with Charli prove, Heidi can hold her own on the dance floor.
The content creator hopes to include some nods to her famous TikTok dance moves during the season as an ode to what got her famous in the first place. Charli is the second-most-followed person on TikTok at 146 million followers. She trails behind Italian funnyman Khabane Lame, who boasts 148.3 million followers.
Dancing With the Stars Season 31 is hosted by Tyra Banks and Alfonso Ribeiro and judged by Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, Len Goodman, and Derek Hough.
Dancing With the Stars, Season 31 Premiere, Monday, September 19, Disney+