Dancing With the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy is weighing in on brother Maks Chmerkovskiy’s recent comments about Anna Delvey.
“He has his opinion,” Val, 38, told Us Weekly exclusively following the DWTS live show on Tuesday, September 24. “Whether I share his opinion or not, that’s not my quote, and that’s not my position to talk about it.”
Val spoke highly of Anna and her partner, Ezra Sosa, who were eliminated from the competition alongside Tori Spelling and Pasha Pashkov during DWTS “Oscars Night” on Tuesday.
“First of all, shout-out to Ezra, her pro, who did an amazing job,” Val continued. “I think she worked hard, and she did well — and that’s it.”
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While Val noted that Anna’s past has “nothing to do with her presently doing Dancing With the Stars” he did acknowledge his brother’s side. “I also understand where he’s coming from,” the professional dancer concluded.
Anna’s past is in reference to her criminal history. The “Fake Heiress,” as she’s come to be known in the public eye, was sentenced to 12 years in prison following a 2019 conviction of one count of attempted grand larceny, three counts of grand larceny and four counts of theft. She was released on parole in 2021 and will serve out the rest of her sentence on house arrest.
Maks, 44, had a lot of thoughts about her DWTS casting while appearing on the “TMZ Podcast” earlier this month.
“I can see both sides. I can also be on the production side, and I can be on the viewer side and understand it all,” he said. “But if you want an ankle [bracelet] and sort of this, ‘Damn, this is going to draw attention,’ and the scandalousness of it all – I mean, there’s so many other people you can choose from.”
Maks called Anna “a professional liar” before going on to slam her dancing. “She wasn’t great,” he said, referring to Anna and Ezra’s cha-cha dance during the DWTS season 33 premiere on September 17. (Ezra has stated that Anna cried after receiving widespread criticism.)
“Hold on a second — didn’t she con people into believing she was, like, fully fashion this and special like that? And that takes a lot of guts,” he continued. “It takes a lot of self-control to present yourself a certain way, even if you’re so nervous. I don’t buy this ‘she was nervous’ stuff. She’s a sh—- dancer, and [her] personality is not really going to help her in this competition.”
Dancing With the Stars airs simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. There will be no new episode on Tuesday, October 1.
