Maks Chmerkovskiy has praised the casting of Jan Ravnik as a professional dancer in the hit dance competition series “Dancing with the Stars.”
“I’m sorry, but there’s no need for Jan to go pro on Dancing with the Stars,” the Season 18 Mirrorball champion said last Friday on his wife Peta Murgatroyd’s podcast, The Penthouse with Peta.
“There’s zero understanding of basic technology, quality and partnership. Brother, I’m getting emotional,” he continued.
“It’s absurd and unrealistic how blind we have to be. And God forbid we say what’s clearly there.”
Chmerkovskiy tried to substantiate his point by citing Ravnik’s choreography from last Tuesday’s “Evil Night” as an example.
He was clearly unimpressed with the routine that Taylor Swift’s Ellas tour dancer created for her professional partner, “Mormon Wives” star Jen Affleck.
“He had no idea what a foxtrot was,” claimed the 45-year-old Latin ballroom dancing champion.
“How do you expect him to teach dance in a completely different format than ballroom dancing and get that message across? There was this criticism a few weeks ago as well, and I’m like, ‘Brother, can someone please explain that to him?'” he added.
Mr. Chmerkovskiy said he had no personal vendetta against Mr. Ravnik, but was more upset about Mr. Ravnik’s appointment.
“Jean, whoever he is, I have no animosity towards him,” he confessed. “No way, this was a missed opportunity.”
Murgatroyd, a two-time DWTS winner, said Affleck, 26, is at a “huge disadvantage” in the ABC dance competition because Ravnik is in the lead every week.
“I feel so bad because she’s not being taught the basics she needs,” she claimed. “She hasn’t been taught the basics of dance.”
The “Faith, Hope and Love” actress claimed that Ravnik was cast solely for her relationship with Swift.
“They hired him. He’s a Taylor Swift dancer. That’s the obvious reason he was hired,” she claimed.
“Other than that, he’s a nice guy, he looks great, and he’s clearly a great dancer. Hiring someone who’s not a ballroom dancer to teach ballroom dancing to celebrities is outrageous.”
Page Six reached out to representatives for both Ravnik and ABC, but did not immediately receive a response.
