Dancing With the Stars subtly brought online drama between Maks Chmerkovskiy and Jan Ravnik into the ballroom during Halloween Night on Tuesday, October 28.
Derek Hough appeared to reference the ongoing beef when offering Jan and his partner, Jen Affleck, feedback following their contemporary routine to “Look What You Made Me Do” by Taylor Swift.
“Jan, first of all,” Hough stared. “I want to tell you, my man, that you are doing a fantastic first season.”
Before Tuesday’s terrifying episode, Chmerkovskiy, 45, shared his strong opinion about Ravnik, 30, who made his debut as a DWTS pro when season 34 began in September.
“Dancing With the Stars is a worldwide phenomenon. … I’m sorry, Jan has absolutely no business being a pro on Dancing With the Stars,” Chmerkovskiy claimed on his wife Peta Murgatroyd‘s “The Penthouse With Peta” podcast. “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.”
Maks Chmerkovskiy Says Jan Ravnik Has ‘No Business’ Being ‘DWTS’ Pro
Chmerkovskiy specifically pointed out Ravnik’s foxtrot with the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star on Wicked Night as an example, claiming Ravnik had “no idea” about the style’s technique. Chmerkovskiy argued that casting Ravnik — who was one of Swift’s dancers on The Eras Tour — was “a missed opportunity” for Affleck.
“[It’s a] major disadvantage,” he claimed. “[Jen] has no partner. … It’s not his fault.”
Murgatroyd, 39, agreed that “hiring a non-ballroom dancer to teach ballroom dancing to a celebrity as a job” was an “outrageous” decision, but she praised Ravnik as a “lovely guy” and “great dancer.”
As the couple’s hot takes made headlines, Affleck stepped up in her partner’s defense while rehearsing for their Halloween contemporary routine. “We don’t tolerate Jan slander in this house !! @Jan Ravnik @Dancing with the Stars #DWTS,” she captioned a TikTok video on Monday, October 27.
In the clip, Affleck was seen typing away on her phone while Ravnik mouthed along to a popular TikTok audio, saying, “Take it down. Take it down. Take it down. We need it gone. That doesn’t represent me or what we need to be doing.”
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Affleck added another caption over the footage which read, “Me When Anyone Talks Trash About Jan.”
Ravnik isn’t the only pro Chmerkovskiy thinks has room for improvement. He also argued Pentatonix singer Scott Hoying was “completely undertaught” by partner Rylee Arnold before their elimination on Wicked Night.
“His arms were down, he wasn’t clear with his movement. It wasn’t polished, it wasn’t finished. It wasn’t Scott that we expected because he’s better than this,” Chmerkovskiy said on the podcast. “This was not his best dance and it was the last dance he did.”
Chmerkovskiy insisted he wasn’t “digging” at Arnold, 20, who he said gave a “spectacular” performance. “She looked fantastic. This dress was incredible,” he continued. “She looked amazing from the first moment. Bang, look I’m getting goosebumps. It was awesome. But Rylee, sweetheart, it’s not your job to be that. Your job is to make sure he is that. And I didn’t see it in her.”
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Ahead of the podcast drama, Chmerkovskiy and Murgatroyd exclusively opened up to Us Weekly about who they think has the best chance at winning the season 34 mirrorball trophy.
“I have hands down Robert Irwin and Witney [Carson],” Murgatroyd told Us at the Dancers Against Cancer’s 2025 Gala of the Stars earlier this month. “One thousand percent. I’m not saying he’s the most technical dancer. Whitney Leavitt for me is the best dancer of the season by far. She is absolutely phenomenal. But I believe Robert Irwin is going to win.”
Chmerkovskiy agreed in part, also throwing in his younger brother as a possible contender. “I think it’s going to be a battle between Robert and Witney and I think Val [Chmerkovskiy] and Alix [Earle] are going to take it,” Maks told Us. “Because there’s also a huge TikTok component. You got some fans over here and you have some fans over here. You have some core fans of Dancing With the Stars, but there’s also been a very big impact of TikTok fans.”
Dancing With the Stars premieres on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET, with new episodes streaming the next day on Hulu.
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