Bella Thorne has opened up about tensions with former Disney Channel co-star Zendaya during their time filming Shake It Up between 2010 and 2013, revealing the pair were pitted against one another behind the scenes. Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Thorne said the rivalry "got pretty bad" at times, but the two actors eventually addressed their differences directly, offering a rare glimpse into the pressures faced by young co-stars navigating industry expectations and public scrutiny.

Thorne recalled that during a live taping of a Good Luck Charlie crossover episode in 2011, she and Zendaya slipped away from set together to talk things through, later admitting they "stayed a little too long". She described the exchange as her first experience of being heard and understood by another woman amid outside pressures, saying they "hashed it out" and left able to see each other clearly again. The crossover episode, "Charlie Shakes It Up", saw the Good Luck Charlie cast visit Chicago and encounter Thorne's CeCe and Zendaya's Rocky on the Shake It Up set.