Zendaya and Bella Thorne Had a 'Beautiful' Heart-to-Heart After Being Pitted Against Each Other on 'Shake It Up'

Bella Thorne said she and Zendaya cleared the air after feeling pitted against each other while starring on Disney Channel's Shake It Up.

"We got into it, hashed it out, and it was so beautiful," Thorne revealed during her August 5 appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast.

She continued, "It was my first experience — woman to woman, girl to girl — where you actually can speak. You can both be heard about the different things you’ve been experiencing and what people are saying and how they’re trying to do this to you. You can walk out of there seeing each other."

The conversation took place while Thorne and Zendaya were filming their Good Luck Charlie crossover episode.

"We escaped to another set in the middle of livetaping — which is really ballsy, badass, and rebellious," she recalled.

Thorne later clarified that they did not actually leave production and had simply snuck away between scenes to talk. However, she described the conversation as "one of the most genuine, girl-on-girl talks" she ever experienced.

Thorne and Zendaya starred as CeCe Jones and Rocky Blue on Disney Channel's Shake It Up, which ran for three seasons from 2010 to 2013.

During the podcast, Thorne reflected on working with Zendaya on the hit series. Host Alex Cooper praised both actresses for having an honest conversation instead of letting the issue continue.

"We’re supposed to be best friends," Thorne said. "They play best friends."

The 28-year-old also addressed the broader issue of women being encouraged to compete with one another.

"The patriarchy’s been doing it for, obviously, since the beginning of time," Thorne revealed.

She continued, "You just go back and you’re like, 'G-- d---, they were 12. What’s wrong with you? You’re an adult.'"

This was not the first time Thorne discussed how the atmosphere on Shake It Up affected her relationship with Zendaya.

During a 2021 interview with Us Weekly, she reflected on their early years working together.

"It’s like we said [in] a couple interviews when we were younger, how we explained how in the first season we weren’t friends and it took us those other two seasons of becoming so close," the Midnight Sun actress said.

She added, "[It was hard] not having someone pitted against you [before] and then all of a sudden, now everyone is pitting you against each other. That fed into our heads. It made us not [be] friends in that first season."

Looking back, Thorne reflected on the conversation that changed the way she and Zendaya viewed their relationship.

"We were really able to put our cards out on the table and [understand] each other," Thorne said.

She added, "So young and so mature at such a young age."