Hilaria Baldwin's early exit from Dancing with the Stars this week was met by celebration from some fans who found her to be controversial. But she's pushing back against their reactions, slamming women who don't support other women just beacuse she "married into" a controversial family. Appearing Thursday on the latest episode of the Dancing with the Stars Official Podcast alongside pro dance partner Gleb Savchenko, Hilaria got emotional about being sent home week 4 despite procuring one of the highest scores of the night with a quickstep that judge Bruno Tonioli said he couldn't find any faults with.
"I opened my heart and now it's broken again," she whispered to podcast host Joey Graziadei, holding back tears. "But I'm 41 and I met [husband] Alec [Baldwin] when I was 27. And the world has been trying to beat me since. ... No matter what I do, it's not enough."
© GC ImagesHilaria met backlash upon the show casting her for this season, given that she has had prior experience dancing in professional ballroom dance competitions, which used to disqualify contestants on the show, which paints itself as a competition for amateur dancers to fall in love with dance and improve week after week. Fans even found old records from Hilaria's past dance competitions, including one from the 2004 Blackpool Dance Festival, known as the world's first and most famous ballroom dance competition. Hilaria (then competing under her birth name, Hillary Hayward-Thomas) and her partner placed 245th in the Amateur Rising Star Latin category, which was higher than DWTS pro Emma Slater, who was also competing and landed just below Hilaria at 242nd place. And Emma wasn't the only future DWTS pro competing that day: Peta Murgatroyd finished 13th, Mark Ballas landed 96th, Val Chmerkovskiy placed 187th and former pro Sharna Burgess finished 223nd.
She has also previously faced social media backlash in the past over accusations faking her Spanish accent and heritage as a Boston, Massachusetts, native. (Hilaria, who has family in Spain, previously maintained she hadn't done anything wrong.)
"There's a big problem online right now. It's a big problem," Hilaria said. "We don't see each other. We make enemies out of each other. And I'm talking about my fellow women. Women's inhumanity to women. We need to stop. We will never get anywhere. And this has nothing to do with me and the dance competition, because I love all the women who are on this and get to continue to dance tomorrow. I support them and I love them. But it has to do with what I've seen this past week with my name, with what people have done to me."
© Disney via Getty ImagesShe continued: "They don't know me. And how many times on this competition people who know me say, 'You're so nice, why do people say these things about you?' And I say 'Because I married into it. And that yoga teacher who's 27 years old was targeted over and over again. Am I perfect? No, I am not. Am I messy? I am messy. Do I forget things? I forget things. But I'm human and I don't want to play the same game by different rules. And nor should any other woman. Nor should my daughters. Am I mad that I'm voted off? No, no, no. I am hurt because I like to dance. But I'm proud of the people who stay. But I'm mad because women, we need to support each other more. The bullying thing needs to stop."
While Hilaria expressed gratitude for the chance to dance again — something she never thought she'd be able to do after multiple injuries — she admitted to being a "little jealous" of the rest of the stars who get to stay in the competition longer and said she feels like she let her kids down. "For me, it's not just a dance competition," she said. "It's something I love, that I opened my heart up to, I opened my body up to."
© Disney/Eric McCandlessGleb said he'll miss Hilaria's work ethic and interest in learning the little details of her dances, costumes and the creative decisions behind them.
"You worked your butt off every day in the studio," Gleb said. "You are a true inspiration. You're not just an amazing mother to seven incredible kids, but you're also superhero in the dance studio. I didn't think you were going to be working so hard, tirelessly, every single day, putting hours and hours and not taking breaks. I would go on a break and I come back and you're still rehearsing in front of the mirror, trying to perfect all of those steps. You were so hard on yourself. You put so much love and passion into dance that really inspired me this season to love dance again. I don't think I've ever done that level of routine since I've been on the show, since my competition days. So I'm so grateful for that opportunity."
© Getty ImagesHe concluded: "You should be so proud of yourself. We should go out of tonight proud and celebrate and root for everyone else, because this season is crazy. The energy -- everyone is so good. ... And if you want to rehearse tomorrow, we still can do it. It's $500 an hour. Alec Baldwin can afford it."
