Maks Chmerkovskiy expressed regret for criticizing new “Dancing With the Stars” pro Jan Ravnik, publicly apologizing to the dancer on social media.
The ballroom pro, who appeared on 17 seasons of “DWTS” before retiring after Season 25, took to Instagram on Thursday and issued an apology to Ravnik — who he previously said had “no business” being on the show due to his “zero foundation” and “technique.”
However, Chmerkovskiy appeared to walk back his harsh criticism in his video message Thursday.
“First and foremost, I want to apologize to Jan for the way my words made you feel, for hurting your feelings,” he said. “There’s a lot more that I want to say. I would like an opportunity to do it over coffee, or any kind of time you have to spare. I would love to meet. I would love to bury the hatchet.”
Chmerkovskiy added: “Most importantly, I think you’re going to walk away with knowing me, feeling completely different and, dare I say, we probably might even be friends.”
Per Chmerkovskiy, his commentary of Ravnik’s performance and abilities as a pro on Season 34 may’ve come off more negative than they were intended to be.
“Maybe it’s paradoxical, but my personality [is] ‘I love you, and I will tell you how it is,’ let alone if I don’t know you,” he explained. “So, my commentary on dance does not come with feelings and emotions, it just comes with [a] completely different range of reasoning.”
As Chmerkovskiy went on, he addressed his own shortcomings as a pro on “DWTS,” including losing his temper with his past partners. Still, he asked fans to “not defend someone by attacking somebody else” after he and his wife, Peta Murgatroyd, received backlash for their commentary about Ravnik.
Ravnik was eliminated alongside partner Jen Affleck on Tuesday evening after they performed a contemporary routine to Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” for Halloween Night.
Prior to their performance, Affleck defended Ravnik on TikTok, writing she wouldn’t “tolerate Jan slander in this house.”
Swift’s former “Eras” tour backup dancer later spoke out, telling E! News he didn’t “appreciate” people “spreading hate to stay relevant.”
“Dancing With the Stars” airs live on Tuesdays on ABC and streams on Disney+ in local time zones and the next day on Hulu.
