Scheana Shay Is Now More Interested in Joining The Traitors Than DWTS

Moving over Dancing With the Stars because Scheana Shay now has her sights set on The Traitors.

“Traitors is my new Dancing With the Stars,” Scheana, 39, revealed on the Friday, January 24, episode of her “Scheananigans” podcast. “I genuinely don’t want to do Dancing With the Stars anymore.”

The Vanderpump Rules alum pointed out her connection to the current season, saying, “I got a little behind the scenes tea from Derrick [Levasseur]. I’ve known him since he won Big Brother. He told me that you didn’t see it on the show but after the episode aired he said Tom [Sandoval] was putting all of the coins in Derrick’s cage because when he saw him, Tom was like, ‘Wait, how do I know you?’”

Derrick, 40, and Sandoval, 42, were able to bond over their mutual friend.

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“Tom gave all of his money to Derrick just because Derrick was my friend. So he was like, ‘Well, thank you for that.’ I was like, ‘I mean, you’re welcome,’” Scheana added before confirming she hasn’t spoken with Sandoval about the show. “I haven’t talked to him since I’ve been watching it. We haven’t talked in a while.”

Scheana switching her allegiance from DWTS to The Traitors comes as a shock. During season 11 of Vanderpump Rules, Scheana was vocal about how she wanted to be a contestant on the celebrity dancing competition show before her costar Ariana Madix got offered the gig instead.

“This year, I started taking dance class. I was preparing in case I did get it. It was kind of a punch to the gut, for sure,” Scheana told Lisa Vanderpump on a March 2024 episode of the hit Bravo show. “I am so happy for her. But I can be happy for her and sad for me at the same time.”

Scheana subsequently got emotional on screen about being passed over in favor of Ariana, 39.

“Even her getting Dancing With the Stars, she knew how bad I wanted that. And I told her, ‘I am so genuinely happy for you. I will be there every f—ing Monday that you want me there,’” she told Lala Kent in a March 2024 episode. “She does deserve everything she is getting right now and I am so happy for her that she did not go down a dark spiral. I just am hurting still.”
Scheana got some backlash when she made a seemingly snide comment in a confessional, saying, “And, like, good for [Ariana]. She has come such a long way from being my backup dancer.”

The social media response caused Scheana to clarify what she actually meant.

“That was my genuine emotion in the moment, and as cringe as I might be sometimes, I don’t ever regret sharing. That is literally my job here,” she explained on her podcast that same month. “This season, I was priding myself on trying to be the most open and honest version of myself — even if at times the audience may not agree with me.”

Scheana stood by her passion for DWTS, saying, “I went way out of my comfort zone this season and I’m hoping that y’all can show me some grace and just understand that a lot of the things that we’re navigating are relatable. I’m putting it all out there because I hope that it helps people who have gone through similar things.”

She concluded: “I literally meant this as a joke. I did not mean shade. I often feel that at times when I tend to be self-deprecating, it’s not received well. It doesn’t land.”