Maksim Chmerkovskiy is addressing his harsh comments toward Jan Ravnik!
The former Dancing With The Stars pro sparked controversy when he slammed the newbie, saying he “had no business” being on the show. Maks felt Jan had “zero foundation technique, quality, understanding of the partnership,” and left his partner, Jen Affleck, with a “major disadvantage” in the competition. Peta Murgatroyd‘s husband even went as far as to suggest the choreographer was only hired because of his ties to Taylor Swift! Damn!
Related: Jen Affleck’s Husband Slams Speculation He’s Secretly Happy About Her Elimination!
Maks quickly faced a lot of criticism from fans online. Even his own brother, Val Chmerkovskiy, and sister-in-law, Jenna Johnson, made it clear they disagree with his take. For his part, Jan addressed the negativity and threw some shade in the process following his elimination! Maksim entered the chat again — this time, to apologize to the newcomer!
The ballroom champ took to Instagram on Thursday to extend an olive branch, saying:
“First and foremost, I want to apologize to Jan for the way my words had made you feel – for hurting your feelings. There’s a lot more that I want to say. I would like an opportunity to do it over coffee or any other time you have to spare. I would love to meet, I would love to talk about this, you know, bury the hatchet. I think you’re going to walk away with knowing me, feeling completely different, and dare I say, even be friends.”
We’re all about making peace, but becoming friends after what Maks said? That might be a stretch!
Maksim went on to explain that his critiques were not meant to be a personal attack. Instead, he was looking at it from a technical point of view. Calling his personality “paradoxical,” he continued:
“I will tell it like it is, let alone if I don’t know you… I’m very black and white. My commentary on dance does not come with feelings or emotions, it’s a completely different range of reasoning. And I’m that guy.”
The reality star expressed he did not want the situation to be “personal,” and he would love a chance to talk one-on-one because hashing it out publicly is “crazy” to him. The video wasn’t only for Jan, though! Maks also wanted to address his own critics!
According to the performer, he has received comments like, “Look at you, loser, you only won once.” However, Maksim said he knows that “more than anybody else,” and he doesn’t care. Those kinds of comments don’t hurt his feelings. He added:
“I’m also very well aware that every single member of my family has won Dancing with the Stars more than I have. They are much better at Dancing With The Stars than me. The part of Dancing with the Stars I was never able to really wrestle with and dominate is the public perception, the public opinion and what people think about me. Fundamentally, I don’t care. I lead with that.”
Other remarks he’s received this week? People coming for him over his reputation for losing his temper on DWTS! He acknowledged:
“I’ve made incredible mistakes with my partners, some of them, with how I presented myself a few times with the loss of temper. It was a horrible situation a few times. So it’s not like you’re saying stuff I don’t already know of, been through. I’m 45, I have kids, I try to only lead by example. Because of that, I can point at myself and say, ‘That, don’t do that.’”
Concluding the lengthy video, he just asked everyone not to attack him in order to defend Jan:
“Please don’t come at me with how many times I won or loss … Let’s not defend someone by attacking somebody else.”
We’ll see if Jan accepts Maksim’s apology. At this time, he has not publicly reacted to the video. Watch it (below):
Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments!
[Image via Maksim Chmerkovskiy/Instagram, extratv/YouTube]
The post Maksim Chmerkovskiy APOLOGIZES To <i>Dancing With The Stars</i> Newcomer Jan Ravnik After His Harsh Criticism! appeared first on Perez Hilton.