'Dancing With the Stars' Season 30 Taps an Olympian and a 'Dance Moms' Legend

The first two stars to compete for the mirror ball trophy during Dancing With the Stars Season 30 [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

The first two stars to compete for the mirror ball trophy during Dancing With the Stars Season 30 were announced on Thursday. Gymnast Suni Lee, who just won three medals at the Tokyo Olympics, and social media star JoJo Siwa will hit the ballroom for ABC this fall, ABC announced during the Television Critics' Association press tour. The rest of the celebrities competing will not be announced until the Sept. 8 episode of Good Morning America.

Lee, 18, won a silver medal as a member of Team USA in the women's team all-around competition and captured the bronze medal in uneven bars. After Simone Biles withdrew from the individual all-around, Lee took center stage and won the gold medal. Lee made history as the first Hmong-American Olympian. Lee is the latest gymnast to star on DWTS, following Biles, Laurie Hernandez, and Nastia Lukin. Hernandez won Season 23 in 2016.

Siwa, 18, rose to fame on Dance Moms. She is one of the most followed people on social media, with over 60.5 million followers on her platforms. Her It's JoJo Siwa YouTube channel has over 3.6 billion views. Her success on social media led to TIME Magazine naming her one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

The former Lifetime star is about to break into acting. She signed up to star in and executive produce The J Team, a live-action musical that will premiere on Paramount+. She is also developing the new Peacock series Siwa Dance Pop Revolution. Siwa is also working on another film called Bounce, based on Megan Shull's book.

While Siwa and Lee's pro dance partners remain unknown, Siwa announced she will compete with a female dancer. It is the first time the show will feature a same-sex duo.

"I'm excited that I get to do it," Siwa said, reports The Wrap. "I think it breaks a wall that's never been broken down before... Not only do I now get to share with the world that you get to love who you want to love but also, you get to dance with who you want to dance with. I think it's really special."

Dancing With the Stars Season 30 will be the second season with Tyra Banks hosting. Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Len Goodman will serve as judges again. Derek Hough, who sat in for Goodman in Season 29, will take the fourth chair at the judge's table. The new season kicks off on Monday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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