There is drama on and off the ballroom for Dancing with the Stars. As the 34th season continues to air on the 2025 TV schedule, fans have been sharing some opinions about the celebrity contestants and the pros, giving their takes on who should win the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. And they’re not the only ones. Former pro Maks Chmerkovskiy shared harsh words for newbie pro Jan Ravnik, and his celebrity partner seemingly responded.
What Did Maks Chmerkovskiy Say?
Chmerkovskiy was on DWTS as a pro dancer for 15 seasons, beginning with Season 2, and he won his first and only Mirrorball in Season 18 with Meryl Davis. While appearing on his wife and fellow former pro Peta Murgatroyd’s podcast, The Penthouse with Peta, Chmerkovskiy discussed the Wicked Night routines and broke everything down. When it came to Ravnik and Jen Affleck, Chmerkovskiy did not hold back. Ravnik joined this season after dancing for Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour, but Chmerkovskiy is not happy he was brought on:
I’m sorry, Jan has absolutely no business being a pro on Dancing With the Stars. There’s zero foundation technique, quality, understanding of the partnership. Bro, I’m getting emotional. It is absurd, and this is unreal how blind we have to be and God forbid say what’s obviously there.
Both Chmerkovskiy and Murgatroyd agreed that it wasn’t Ravnik's fault and called him a talented dance. However, they also said he’s not trained in ballroom dancing. The couple believe it's hard to pick up the skill and also train someone else entirely. With that said, Ravnik blew up (and nearly blew over) while dancing on The Eras Tour, both for his looks and numerous viral moments, so it makes sense why ABC would extend an offer. Even so, Affleck is apparently coming to her partner’s defense.
Jen Affleck Appeared To Issue A Response
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star seemed to defend Ravnik by way of a TikTok video. Both Affleck and Ravnik have been sharing a lot of videos from rehearsals, including the most recent one in which Affleck captioned, “Me when anyone talks trash about Jan.” The clip shows her furiously typing on her phone while Ravnik is right beside her, and the sound used is someone saying, “Take it down.” However, Affleck does not look like she wants to:
It is sweet to see how close Affleck and Ravnik have become over these last several weeks, and that Affleck would seemingly more than gladly post something if it meant defending her partner. A lot of people have certainly been on the fence about Ravnik, arguably because he is Taylor Swift’s dancer. However, he has a lot of dance experience aside from The Eras Tour. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been her dancer and probably wouldn’t be on DWTS.
There’s a reason Jan Ravnik and Jen Affleck have managed to make it this far in the competition. Although it’s hard to predict how much further they’ll go, they have certainly rounded up some fans by the end of their run. It’s not easy being the new pro but, given he's danced for the biggest pop star in the world, Ravnik can surely handle the pressure.
New episodes of Dancing with the Stars air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and are streamable with a Disney+ subscription.
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