Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars has it all. The stacked cast features athletes, social media influencers, actors, and reality stars. Dylan Efron, who won Season 3 of The Traitors, is getting his groove on in the ballroom. And two cast members from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives joined DWTS. MomTok member Jen Affleck was paired with newbie pro Jan Ravnik. Meanwhile, Whitney Leavitt has been waltzing with Mark Ballas.
While Season 34 has treated us to some amazing performances and epic theme nights, it has also had its share of controversy. Beloved fan favorite Andy Richter is obviously not the best dancer. Yet he has stayed week after week while more promising competitors have been voted out. This has brought up the idea of bringing back the judges’ save.
Meanwhile, Jan is the only new pro to join the DWTS cast, and his addition has caused some major waves. Previous pros have weighed in, as have some of the judges, on Jan’s lack of ballroom experience. Let’s dive into the Jen Affleck and Jan Ravnik controversy.
Jan Ravnik joined Dancing with the Stars in 2025 after working as a dancer for Taylor Swift
Originally, when Jan joined DWTS, it was suspected that Gleb Savchenko had been cut from the show. Gleb hinted that he was let go, but somehow still ended up as a Season 34 pro. His tumultuous relationship with his Season 33 partner, Brooks Nader, may have put him in a sticky situation.
Anyway, Jan was one of Taylor Swift’s back-up dancers on The Eras Tour. As an experienced dancer and a recognizable face, casting him would have been a no-brainer. And his association with Taylor was a definite plus.
And while his partner, Jen, had no formal dance experience, she loves to dance. In her social media posts, she often joyfully dances on her kitchen counter. In addition, Jen signed on and performed eight weeks after giving birth to her daughter, Penelope. For the record, she has three kids under three. Kudos to this busy mom!
While the duo started fairly solid, as the season progressed, their scores started to slide down the leaderboard. During Halloween Night, Jan and the SLOMW star danced a murderous contemporary to Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift. The couple landed in seventh place on the leaderboard after the points from the Monster-thon were added. Sadly, Jen and Jan were sent home. After they were eliminated, Jan shared his thoughts about his hard-working partner. “She’s a rock star,” he stated.
Jan joining the show and being paired with Jen Affleck didn’t impress DWTS alum Maksim Chmerkovskiy
One former DWTS pro and judge, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, shared his feelings about Jan joining the show. The Bad Boy of Ballroom appeared on his wife, DWTS pro Peta Murgatroyd’s podcast, The Penthouse with Peta. “I’m sorry, Jan has absolutely no business being a pro on Dancing with the Stars,” Maksim said. “There’s zero foundation technique, quality, understanding of the partnership.”
Then he critiqued Jen and Jan’s foxtrot from Wicked Night. “He had no idea what foxtrot is supposed to look like. How are you going to expect him to teach it and deliver that message in a format that is completely different from even ballroom dancing?” Maksim remarked.
Of course, Peta also weighed in on Jan’s skill set. “I feel bad because she’s not getting taught the basics that she needs to. She’s not getting taught the base of the dance,” Peta said of Jen. “He’s a Taylor Swift dancer. It’s the obvious reason why he is hired.” Ouch! She added, “Hiring a non-ballroom dancer to teach ballroom dancing to a celebrity as a job is outrageous.” Welp, that was a lot to launch at the DWTS newbie.
Of course, after Maksim kicked up this ballroom blitz, judge Derek Hough seemed to subtly address it on Halloween Night. He complimented Jan on having a “fantastic” first season as a pro.
Maks has now apologized to Jan, after Jen made her own remarks
Well, one person who definitely had Jan’s back was his partner. So, she posted a shady TikTok addressing the controversy. In the clip, Jen was frantically typing on her phone, while the screen read, “Me when anyone talks trash about Jan.” Then Jan, who was wearing a K95 mask, lip-synched, “Take it down. We need it gone. That doesn’t represent me or what we need to be doing.” Jen captioned the duo’s TikTok, “We don’t tolerate Jan slander in this house!!”
I guess the message was received, because Maksim posted an Instagram video, apologizing to Jan. “First and foremost, I want to apologize to Jan for the way my words made you feel, for hurting your feelings,” Maksim stated. “I would like an opportunity to do it over coffee, or any kind of time you have to spare.” He added, “I would love to meet. I would love to bury the hatchet.”
Then an apologetic Maksim added, “I think you’re going to walk away with knowing me, feeling completely different, and dare I say, even be friends.” That may be a reach, but I love the optimism!
As for why Maksim slammed Jan in the first place? “My commentary on dance does not come with feelings or emotions,” Maksim explained. “It’s a completely different range of reasoning.”
As for Jan? Following his elimination, he told E! News, “I’m a person who doesn’t appreciate hate, or people who are spreading hate to stay relevant.” Well, we will have to see Maks and Jan get together for that coffee. Either way, I have a feeling that we will be seeing Jan next season on DWTS.
Dancing with the Stars is available to stream on Disney+.
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