Not only did Dancing With the Stars alum Gleb Savchenko have harsh words for Alan Bersten recently — he also took aim at judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
In a TikTok video posted on Sunday, October 18, Savchenko, 43, reacted to the brewing controversy over Inaba’s criticism of what she described as an illegal lift during Jenna Johnson and Harry Shum Jr.’s Super Bowl Night performance last week.
“I just watched Jenna and Harry’s samba, and I think it was a really entertaining dance. It was really cool,” he began. “I don’t think it was like an OG samba — it was a bit flat-footed, it was like a hip-hop samba — but if I would be [a] judge instead of Carrie Ann, I would never, ever call out that lift.”
“It wasn’t a lift. It was a trick that has been done by true dancers helping Harry. We’ve seen it many, many times. Jenna didn’t lift him, he didn’t lift Jenna … it wasn’t done in the couple, so I think it’s bulls**t,” Savchenko continued.
“It’s probably [because] Carrie Ann just had to say something, because she’s the lift police on Dancing With the Stars,” he added.
“She was just doing her job, creating a good TV moment. But, yeah, I’d say Team Val on this one,” Savchenko said, referring to Johnson’s husband, Val Chmerkovskiy, who was handed a one-week suspension after posting allegedly threatening social media comments about Inaba while defending his wife.
Sachenko concluded, “I think there’s some bulls**t going on.”
DWTS producer BBC Studios confirmed to Us on Saturday, October 17, that Chmerkovskiy, 40, has been benched from this coming week’s Dedication Night following his controversial comments about Inaba. (The professional dancer said in a since-deleted social media comment, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” seemingly referencing Will Smith slapping host Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.)
“The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable,” a BBC Studios spokesperson said in a statement shared with Us. “Val’s social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show. As a result, he will not participate in next week’s show.”
News broke later on Saturday that fellow pro Bersten, who was eliminated earlier in season 35 with cookbook author Giada de Laurentiis, will step in for Chmerkovskiy as actress Jenna Dewan’s pro partner on Tuesday, October 20. (They will perform a Viennese waltz to The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody.”)
In a clip from a TikTok livestream captured by fans and recirculated via X, Savchenko said he was not impressed by the decision to replace Chmerkovskiy with Bersten.
“Alan, I think he’s Alan. I mean, he’s just not up to the level of dancing, like, period,” he opined. “[The] quality, the technique. He’s a good dancer, I guess, for TV, but if we talk about art? Like creating art? He’s like, eh.”
Neither Inaba nor Bersten has publicly responded to the former DWTS pro’s comments.
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