Dancing With the Stars ’ Derek Hough Praises Jan Ravnik Amid Criticism

Originally appeared on E! Online

Look what you made Derek Hough do.

Amid former Dancing With the Stars pros Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd’s pointed criticism of current pro Jan Ravnik, the Taylor Swift backup dancer earned special praise from Derek on the Oct. 28 Halloween episode.

Following Jan’s contemporary dance to “Look What You Made Me Do” with his dance partner Jen Affleck, the judge made sure to show his support.

“Jan, first of all, I want to tell you, my man, that you are doing a fantastic first season,” Derek said. “Fantastic!”

He added that he did agree with fellow judge Carrie Ann Inaba‘s critique on stretching their feet and watching their limbs.

“Just be aware of your whole body,” Carrie Ann told Jen. “I’m not trying to be hard on you. Just know I say this with love, because I want you to improve because I see the potential in you.”

Maks went on to note how he was encouraged after Jan delivered “one dance that delivered some sort of direction” but that his momentum went “off the cliff” with his subsequent teachings of the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star.

He added that his criticism is less about Jan, 30, himself and more about the decision to hire him in the first place.

“Jan, whoever he is, I have zero against him whatsoever,” the 45-year-old said. “No way, this was a missed opportunity.”

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Ahead of the dancing competition’s Halloween-themed episode, Jan, 30, and Jen, 26, raised eyebrows by seemingly addressing Maks and Peta’s opinion that the Slovenia native has “absolutely no business being a pro on Dancing with the Stars.”

For his part, Jan shared a picture on his Instagram Story hours before the live episode of himself bending over backward in a spooky, trance-like pose beside Jen, who held her hand in the air over him. Atop the snap, he wrote Taylor’s lyrics, “I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams.”

Jen took a more direct approach, sharing a TikTok the day before of herself miming frustrated typing on her phone, writing, “Me when anyone talks trash about Jan.”

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star added in the caption, “We don’t tolerate Jan slander in this house.”

Days before, Maks and Peta—who tied the knot in 2017—criticized Jan’s skills as a dance teacher and choreographer while weighing in on his inclusion on season 34 of Dancing With the Stars.

“There’s zero foundation technique, quality, understanding of the partnership,” Maks, 45, said on the Oct. 24 episode of Peta’s The Penthouse With Peta podcast. “Bro, I’m getting emotional. It is absurd, and this is unreal how blind we have to be and God forbid say what’s obviously there.”

Peta, 39, agreed with Maks, noting she feels “bad” for Jen because she’s “not getting taught the basics that she needs to.”

“He’s a Taylor Swift dancer. It’s the obvious reason why he is hired,” she said. “Apart from that, he’s a lovely guy. He looks great. He obviously is a great dancer.”

And she ultimately sees the issue as bigger than just Jan himself.

Peta added, “Hiring a non-ballroom dancer to teach ballroom dancing to a celebrity as a job is outrageous.”

In addition to Jan and Jen, read on to see who else is competing on season 34 of Dancing With the Stars.

Baron Davis

Jennifer Affleck

Alix Earle

Dylan Efron

Corey Feldman

Elaine Hendrix

Robert Irwin

Jordan Chiles

Scott Hoying

Whitney Leavitt

Hilaria Baldwin

Andy Richter

Danielle Fishel

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