Hilaria Baldwin made waves last week when she said she was "bullied off" Dancing with the Stars. Now, one former DWTS Mirrorball Trophy winner is pushing back on those claims. Radio host Bobby Bones, who won the show with pro Sharna Burgess in 2018, argued that he was actually bullied by fans, whereas Hilaria was simply voted off because of a lack of votes. "As somebody who was treated like crap by the hardcore fans of the show, yeah, bullying happens, but you don't get bullied off the show," Bobby said in response to Hilaria's comments in a video posted Monday to TikTok.
He continued: "You get kicked off the show because nobody voted for you. Or you didn't get scores, but [Hilaria] was a great dancer. She was somebody who came in with a ton of dance experience, obviously. But no, no, no, you didn't get bullied off the show. You got eliminated because people didn't like you. I got, again, bullied like crazy, but people like me, so I won the show. So that's bull crap."
Bobby maintained that DWTS viewers are the "meanest fanbase ever," claiming the "people that vote and love the show and have a good time" are cool, but the "hardcores? Bad people," he added. Bobby has become a controversial figure in DWTS lore to some fans. He wound up winning season 27 in large part due to high amounts of fan voting — his scores were often significantly lower than some of the other competitors who made it into the finale.
Hilaria was voted off the show last Tuesday following weeks of controversy over her prior professional ballroom dance experience, which the show had said in past years was not allowed in the amateur competition. She was visibly and audibly upset during her appearance Thursday on the Dancing with the Stars Official Podcast, where she tearfully slammed viewers who she felt had wronged her. "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. ... I'm mad because women, we need to support each other more. The bullying thing needs to stop."
Those sentiments continued over the next few days, when she continued to share her bullying claims on social media. "I did get bullied off the show," Hilaria said in an Instagram Live stream. "I did, that's for sure. That is for sure."
The Baldwin family hasn't had an easy week. After Hilaria's elimination last Tuesday, her husband, Alec Baldwin, and his brother, fellow actor Stephen Baldwin, were involved in a car crash while driving Hilaria's car Monday in the Hamptons. Following media reports, Alec shared a video on Instagram speaking out about the experience.
"This morning, I was in this car accident," the actor said. "A guy cut me off in a truck, a big garbage truck the size of a whale. ... To avoid hitting him, I hit a tree. I hit a big, fat tree. It crushed my wife's car. I crushed my wife's car; I feel bad about that. But it's all fine; I'm fine. My brother's fine."
Alec said he was planning to head to Los Angeles next to see his family — Hilaria shared at the beginning of the DWTS season that her family, including their seven children ranging from ages three to 12, had temporarily relocated to California from New York while filming the reality dance competition show. "And I'm still so proud of my wife. Hilaria, I love you more than anything and I'm very proud of you," he concluded. "OK. I'm fine."