Lisa Ann Walter Says Elaine Hendrix Was ‘Underscored’ on DWTS (Excl)

Lisa Ann Walter couldn’t be more proud of best friend Elaine Hendrix as her Dancing With the Stars journey continues.

“This is a stacked season,” Walter, 62, told Us Weekly exclusively while attending the Paley Honors Fall Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles on Monday, November 10. “I would not count out any of the people that are still in the show.”

Walter argued that Hendrix, who is competing with pro Alan Bersten on season 34 of the ballroom dance show, was “underscored” for the majority of her performances. “She can’t say that, but I can,” the actress teased.

While praising Hendrix’s talent, Walter also gave a shout-out to Bersten, 31, for not watering down his choreography. “She has dance training. She had no ballroom [experience]. And the way she picked up the frame and holds in frame, the way she picked up heel leads in her smooth dances — she is truly good,” Walter told Us. “Her teacher is a big part of the reason. Alan teaches her legit ballroom. There is no fudging. There is no, ‘We’re going to throw in some jazz.’ When she does a tango, it is real tango. Quickstep is real quickstep.”

Walter is “really proud” of how much Hendrix has “accomplished” on the show, especially as a woman in her 50s. “I would count nobody out,” Walter reiterated, citing Alix Earle as one of her other frontrunners this season. “But I am in particular, of course, proud of my friend who — on a show that doesn’t necessarily reward women as they get older like they do the men — I think that she has shown up.”

Hendrix has impressed DWTS fans since she first hit the ballroom in September, staying consistently near the top of the leaderboard throughout the competition. She’s also spoken candidly about overcoming stereotypes surrounding her age.

“I want to prove to myself and prove to other women that age is just a number. It doesn’t matter,” she told Julianne Hough after dancing a cha-cha during week 1.

Walter has been a constant source of support for her friend and former Parent Trap costar, often cheering on Hendrix from the audience. For Dedication Night, Walter joined Hendrix and Bersten to perform a sweet foxtrot. “Female friendships are vital,” Hendrix said in the intro package during the episode. “We support one another. When my mom died, the first person I called was Lisa.”

Hendrix’s DWTS experience was briefly stalled by an injury during week 7, but she bounced back right away, earning her first 10 of the season for her Viennese waltz on Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night.

As Hendrix gets one step closer to the mirrorball trophy, Walter is celebrating successes of her own. Along with starring on Abbott Elementary, currently in its fifth season, Walter is gearing up to release her own stand-up special next year.

“My comedy has always been, both in my stand-up and also the television shows that I cocreated back in the ’90s, was based on what was happening in my life. So back then it was doing the plate spinning act of raising a family, finding a cure for cancer and having a flat stomach,” she told Us on Monday. “And now it is the sort of second act passed that — the post-divorce, trying to date, the kids are in college but they still move home, all of that life. And so I just tell the stories of what is actually happening, what’s happening in the country a little bit.”