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Gleb Savchenko is playfully biting back after being branded an “unemployed professional hater” following his recent Dancing With the Stars criticism.
On Thursday, October 22, Savchenko, 43, posted a TikTok video of himself looking unbothered while sipping a cocktail and scrolling through his phone. “POV: Another day of being an ‘unemployed professional hater,’” he wrote over the video.
“Constructive criticism about dance technique.. never personal 🙃,” the DWTS alum captioned the post.
Savchenko recently came under fire from ballroom fans after he criticized the decision to pair actress Jenna Dewan with pro dancer Alan Bersten on this week’s Dedication Night episode of DWTS. Bersten, 32, stepped in for Dewan’s regular partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, who was handed a one-week suspension over comments he made about judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
“Alan, I think he’s Alan,” he said in a TikTok livestream earlier this month. “I mean, he’s just not up to the level of dancing, like, period. [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.”
In a separate TikTok livestream earlier this week, Savchenko attempted to clarify his comments, insisting he was not attacking Bersten.
“I didn’t attack Alan at all,” he said. “Alan’s a good dancer for his niche. He’s great for his thing. But he can’t be compared to Val. … I’m not talking trash, I’m just saying how it is.”
“Different styles, different technique, different s***. … I don’t wanna compare anybody, I think everybody’s great for their own thing. And it takes time to get better and better,” he added.
Savchenko is not among the troupe of professional dancers competing on DWTS this season. He last appeared with Hilaria Baldwin during season 34.
“I’ll probably say a little break, a little hiatus, a little reset,” he described stepping away for season 35 in an exclusive interview with Us in September.
“I’m not retired from Dancing With the Stars. I’m coming back as a celebrity to win it,” Savchenko then quipped.
“I don’t even remember how many seasons I’ve done nonstop and the tours,” he explained. “So this year is actually a good thing to take a break. You know, watch the show. And it’s such a cool experience when you watch it from the side, and when you’re not there, you see how amazing it is and how cheesy it is and how fun it is.”
Gleb Savchenko and Hilaria Baldwin Eric McCandless/Disney
Watching season 35, Savchenko recalled thinking “’Oh my god, I actually did that for, like, what, 12 years?!’ But it’s fun, you know. It’s fun. It’s good vibes. I just love it.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
