Maks Chmerkovskiy slams “DWTS” for casting Taylor Swift backup dancer Jan Ravnik as pro: 'It is absurd'
- - Maks Chmerkovskiy slams “DWTS” for casting Taylor Swift backup dancer Jan Ravnik as pro: 'It is absurd'
Sydney BucksbaumOctober 27, 2025 at 10:36 PM
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Emma McIntyre/Getty; Frank Micelotta/Disney via Getty
Maks Chmerkovskiy in 2024, and Jan Ravnik for 'Dancing With the Stars'
Maks Chmerkovskiy is not a fan of Dancing With the Stars hiring Taylor Swift backup dancer Jan Ravnik as a pro this season.
Former pro dancer Chmerkovskiy slammed the ABC series Friday on his wife Peta Murgatroyd's The Penthouse With Peta podcast for Ravnik's casting after Murgatroyd said they should "give him grace for not understanding foxtrot technique."
Chmerkovskiy shot back, "No, we do not have to give him grace. Are you kidding me? 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."
Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty
Jan Ravnik and Jen Affleck on 'Dancing With the Stars'
The former pro, who previously competed for 17 seasons on DWTS, said Ravnik's performance with partner Jen Affleck during the Wicked night proved his point.
"He had no idea what foxtrot is supposed to look like," Chmerkovskiy said. "How are you going to expect him to teach it and deliver that message in a format that is completely different from even ballroom dancing? We had this criticism weeks ago, and I'm like, 'Bro is anybody going to explain it to him?'"
Chmerkovskiy continued critiquing Ravnik's performance by saying that "it just [went] off the cliff."
The former pro added that he has nothing personal "against [Ravnik] whatsoever" despite his opinions, but said that the casting was "a missed opportunity."
Murgatroyd, also a former DWTS pro, agreed that Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Affleck faces a "major disadvantage" by having Ravnik as a partner.
"I feel bad because she's not getting taught the basics that she needs to," Murgatroyd said. "She's not getting taught the base of the dance."
The couple agreed that it's not Ravnik's "fault," but rather that the show is at fault for not hiring a pro ballroom dancer.
"They hired him, babe. They did it," Murgatroyd said. "They hired him. He's a Taylor Swift dancer. It's the obvious reason why he is hired. Apart from that, he's a lovely guy. He looks great. He obviously is a great dancer. [But] hiring a non-ballroom dancer to teach ballroom dancing to a celebrity as a job is outrageous."
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She argued that Ravnik should have been hired in a smaller capacity on the show first before getting promoted to pro.
"He should have been a part of the troupe," Murgatroyd said. "He should have learned, gone to ballroom classes."
Before getting hired as a pro, Ravnik was best known for dancing on Swift's The Eras Tour.
DWTS season 34 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+,
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
