Brandon Armstrong may have just thrown some shade at Maks Chmerkovskiy.
Armstrong and fellow dance pro Rylee Arnold hosted a TikTok live during the Tuesday, Oct. 28 episode of Dancing With The Stars. There, the duo interviewed Jan Ravnik backstage before his “Halloween Night” performance.
During the interview, Ravnik seemingly addressed Chmerkovskiy’s controversial comments about his ballroom dance ability while discussing his viral TikTok lives with his co-stars.
“Your lives have become iconic, you’re very famous on social media for basically, for saying whatever you want,” Armstrong told Ravnik. “Your lives on TikTok are unhinged some would say.”
Arnold agreed, saying “they’re very funny” and that she “finds enjoyment in them.”
“But there’s no hate in my TikToks,” Ravnik responded, seemingly referencing the controversy. “I’m not like some other people.”
After Armstrong and Arnold burst into laughter, Ravnik joked that he was taking back his statement. However, Armstrong took things a step further.
“I don’t want to do this y’all,” he began. “But I love PETA, like the group, like with the animals.”
Armstrong’s comment may seem out of place, but longtime DWTS viewers know that Chmerkovskiy is married to Peta Murgatroyd, another former pro dancer on the show.
“I love adopting animals, I love taking care of animals,” Armstrong continued, before pointing to Ravnik’s bare feet and asking why he had “the dogs” out tonight.
RELATED: Derek Hough Seemingly Addresses Maks Chmerkovskiy Controversy During ‘DWTS’
The controversial comments were made on the Friday, Oct. 24 episode of The Penthouse with Peta podcast, where Chmerkovskiy and Murgatroyd, discussed Ravnik and his celebrity partner Jen Affleck.
Ravnik first rose to fame as a backup dancer for Taylor Swift‘s “Eras Tour.” Since joining DWTS earlier this season, he’s divided fans due to his apparent lack of ballroom training.
“Jen has a major disadvantage,” Murgatroyd said on the podcast. “She’s not getting taught the base of the dance. He is a Taylor Swift dancer, which is the obvious reason why they hired him. Hiring a non-ballroom dancer to teach a celebrity ballroom dance is outrageous.”
“He’s learning slowly,” she continued. “It’s his first season. I have to give him grace for not understanding Foxtrot technique. It’s very hard to watch.”
Chmerkovskiy, on the other hand, was much harsher with his commentary.
“Jan has absolutely no business being a pro on Dancing With the Stars. There’s zero foundation, technique, quality, understanding of the partnership,” he said. “It is absurd. This is unreal — how blind we have to be to not say what’s obviously there.”
“It’s not Jan’s fault,” he added. “He’s doing what he was hired to do. I have zero against him whatsoever. [But Affleck] has no partner. It’s not his fault.”
RELATED: Jen Affleck Seemingly Responds to Maks Chmerkovskiy’s Criticism of Her ‘DWTS’ Partner Jan Ravnik
During Tuesday’s “Halloween Night,” Ravnik and Affleck performed a contemporary routine to Swift‘s “Look What You Made Me Do.” The couple scored a 32/40 for the performance.
At the end of the live show, Ravnik and Affleck were eliminated from the competition.
Dancing with the Stars airs LIVE on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+ and streams next day on Hulu.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 29, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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