Maksim Chmerkovskiy doesn’t want any bad blood with Jan Ravnik. Following his recent criticism of the casting of Taylor Swift‘s backup dancer on Dancing With the Stars as a pro, the ballroom bash’s former pro has shared an apology and attempted to explain where he was coming from in an Instagram video posted Thursday (Oct. 30).
In the clip — which comes six days after Chmerkovskiy said on a wife Peta Murgatroyd’s podcast that Ravnik had “absolutely no business being a pro on Dancing With the Stars” due to lack of experience — the competition show alum sat in his car and addressed the former Eras Tour performer directly. “I want to apologize to Jan for the way my words have made you feel, for hurting your feelings,” he began. “There is a lot more I want to say.”
“I would love to talk about this, bury the hatchet,” Chmerkovskiy continued, noting that he hopes to meet up with Ravnik someday to squash the beef in person. “I think you’re going to walk away knowing me and feeling completely different, and, dare I say, we probably might even be friends.”
The dancer went on to say that he hadn’t intended any malice when he’d said on the Oct. 24 episode of The Penthouse With Peta that Ravnik had none of the “foundation, technique, quality [or] understanding of the partnership” necessary to properly coach celebrity contestants on DWTS. (Murgatroyd also added at the time, “He’s a Taylor Swift dancer, it’s the obvious reason why he was hired … Hiring a non-ballroom dancer to teach ballroom dancing to a celebrity as a job is outrageous.”)
“My personality [is], ‘I love you, and I will tell you how it is,’” Chmerkovskiy explained in his apology video. “My commentary on dance does not come with feelings and emotions, it just comes with a completely different range of reasoning.”
Season 34 of DWTS marks Ravnik’s first spin on the series, which he joined after spending two years supporting Swift on her global Eras trek. The Slovenian-born dancer was paired with Jennifer Affleck from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives for the competition, but after dancing their hearts out to the 14-time Grammy winner’s “Look What You Made Me Do” on a Halloween-themed episode that aired Tuesday (Oct. 28), the pair was eliminated.
Shortly afterward, Ravnik seemingly addressed Chmerkovskiy’s criticism of him by telling Entertainment Tonight, “The people who’s trying to stay relevant, spreading the hate, this is not a way to do it.”
Elsewhere in Chmerkovskiy’s video, he added that the attention surrounding the issue has been “crazy,” as hordes of people have apparently been sending him hate over his comments about Ravnik. “Let’s not defend someone by attacking somebody else,” he said emphasizing that he’s unfazed by people trying to “hurt [his] feelings” by bringing up his own losses and the “incredible mistakes” he made during his tenure as a pro on DWTS.
There are now just eight contestants left on this season of DWTS, including another Mormon Wives star, Whitney Leavitt, as well as Robert Irwin, Jordan Chiles, Alix Earle and Danielle Fishel. The next episode will take place on Nov. 4 with a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame theme, featuring guest judge Flavor Flav.
Watch Chmerkovskiy’s full apology video below.
