· Tonight, Dancing With the Stars is on and the show just found itself in the middle of some ballroom drama.
· Former pro Maks Chmerkovskiy and his wife Peta Murgatroyd are openly slamming the show for casting Taylor Swift’s backup dancer Jan Ravnik as a pro in its 34th season.
· Maks unloaded his thoughts on Peta’s podcast, calling the decision “outrageous” and “absurd.”
· He argued that Jan doesn’t have the technical background or ballroom foundation required to be a pro on a show that’s built around ballroom dancing.
· Maks pointed to Jan’s Foxtrot performance with celebrity partner Jen Affleck during Wicked Night, claiming it proved his point.
· He said, “He had no idea what a Foxtrot is supposed to look like. How are you going to expect him to teach it and deliver that message in a format that is completely different from what he’s used to?”
· He also implied that the show is losing sight of its roots.
· Maks, who was a pro for 17 seasons, said it’s frustrating to see technique and tradition get overshadowed by star power.
· ABC and Jan Ravnik have not responded to the criticism.
· Tonight’s theme is Halloween.