'DWTS' Season 31: Teresa Giudice claims 'RHONJ' officials initially banned her from competing in the dance show
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Dancing With The Stars' Season 31 premiered on Disney+ on Monday, September 19, with plenty of glam and spectacular performance by its stars. For the first time in its 17-year-long history, the show changed its base from ABC to Disney+ and will continue to release all seasons on the streaming platform. Contestant Teresa Giudice of Bravo's 'RHONJ' was one of the competitors on the show, along with many other famous celebrities.
Kicking off its premier with a fabulous opening sequence at Disney Land, the show had celebrities put their best foot forward on the dance floor with glorious performances by many stars such as Charlie D'Amelio and Selma Blair. But there were also a few performances that left fans and judges unimpressed. Such as the performance by 'Real Housewives Of New Jersey' star Teresa Giudice. Teresa made her debut on the long-running series on Monday, but her performance didn't go exactly as planned.
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Teresa on 'Dancing With The Stars' Season 31
She danced the Tango to 'We Found Love' by Rihanna with her professional partner Pasha Pashkov. After harsh criticism from the judges, she earned a score of 20 points total and found herself in the bottom two but was saved by the judges' votes to go through to the second week. Fans even pointed out her performance was awkward and woody, especially with the faux pass the star committed while on the dance floor. But Teresa was a good sport about the awkwardness and focused on her amazing year. Recently the star remarried and has been "working on herself", according to what she told fans in the first installment of her new podcast, Namaste B$tches, which dropped on Wednesday.
But there's more to the story of how Teresa landed up on 'DWTS' Season 31. In fact, there could've been a chance that the reality star would have appeared way before her debut. The star opened up about what went down when she received the call to star in the show's newest season. During the episode, Teresa told Melissa Pfeister how she landed the gig.
The 'RHONJ' star revealed that execs of 'DWTS' asked her to be on the show while she was on her honeymoon with her husband Luis Ruelas in Greece. After an August wedding in New Jersey, the pair flew to Europe for a lavish honeymoon. During the episode, Teresa told Melissa Pfeister how she landed the gig. Teresa revealed that it wasn't the first time she was approached for 'DWTS'. She stated by saying, "No, I was asked before. I was asked when I came home from prison. That was the first time. And I couldn't because I had to be on Bravo first." Teresa was sentenced to 15 months in prison for federal fraud with her ex-husband Joe Guidice. Melissa restated her response, saying, "Oh, Bravo was like, 'if you're gonna go back on camera, it's gonna be with us.'" To which Teresa added, "They wanted me to be on camera with them first, so I asked Bravo, and Bravo was like, 'no!' and I was like 'oh my god.'"
But it was a long time ago, and the timing aligned much better now than it had then, according to Teresa. She continued further with, "Yes, it was. Oh, yea, it was like over five, six years ago. Yea, it was a long time ago. And you know, listen, everything happens for a reason because I remember I got asked… I was in prison. I was like, excited because I got asked while I was there, and they were like, 'we want you when you come home,' and I was just like, 'oh my god.'" Her excitement was cut short as she was soon concerned about leaving her family again and spending time apart from her kids. And especially after Bravo clearly said no to it.
'DWTS' Season 31 airs every Monday on Disney + at 8 pm ET and 5 pm PT.