On March 26, 2026, Maddie Ziegler joined Therapuss with Jake Shane to discuss her role in the film, Pretty Lethal
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During their conversation, the 23-year-old former competitive dancer recalled being a judge on So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation
Ziegler admitted it was "so weird" having to judge her one-time competitor, Tate McRae
Maddie Ziegleris unpacking her childhood rivalry withTate McRaeyears after burying the hatchet.
Ziegler rose to fame as one of the standout young dancers of her generation onDance Momsbefore becoming a global sensation through her work withSia, most notably in the viral music video "Chandelier."
Before international recognition, however, Ziegler was deeply immersed in the competitive dance world, where she often crossed paths with other rising talents. One of those dancers was McRae, whom she remembers competing against vividly.
"We used to compete against each other, and [McRae]…beat me at, like, our big award show. It was like the biggest thing you can win, called the Dance Awards, and she won, and…when I was younger, I was like a sore loser," Ziegler, 23, admitted on a recent episode ofTherapuss with Jake Shane. "Like if I didn't win, I was really upset."
Like Ziegler, McRae also built her foundation in competitive dance before transitioning into music. The "Greedy" singer, now 22, began training at just 6 and quickly rose through the ranks, eventually competing in many of the same circuits as Ziegler and otherDance Momsgirls trained by Abby Lee Miller.
At the 2015 Dance Awards, the two competed against each other for the Junior Female Best Dancer title, with McRae placing first and Ziegler fourth.
The two later crossed paths in 2016 onSo You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation, where Ziegler stepped into a judging role and McRae, who was just 13 years old, was a contestant.
"It was so weird," Ziegler said of the experience.
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TheMusicactress noted that she and McRae "technically" weren't "allowed to be friends" at the time due to the dynamic nature of the competition. "So we had to wait until after we wrapped," she explained.
In the end, McRae ultimately finished in third place, making history as the highest-placing Canadian on the show.
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In the years that have followed, Ziegler and McRae's early rivalry has given way to a supportive friendship.
"I feel like when I was around 16, 17, we got close again and started hanging out in L.A.," Ziegler told Shane. "I love her so much, and she's killing it."
Despite her dance career gaining momentum afterSYTYCD, McRae began expanding into music, building a following through her early YouTube channel and original song releases before signing with RCA Records in 2019.
Ziegler, meanwhile, continued evolving as a performer, later moving into acting and film while maintaining her connection to dance.
For her latest role as a ballerina in the filmPretty Lethal,Ziegler recently told PEOPLEthat she underwent an intensive training period alongside her castmates while filming abroad. "We were all living in the same hotel and we were immediately immersed into three weeks of boot camp," she said of the experience.
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