Dancing With The Stars' Maks Chmerkovskiy Calls Jan Ravnik's Casting As A Pro 'Absurd' — Do You Agree?

Jan Ravnik is now in his "Dancing With the Stars" era, and Maks Chmerkovskiy isn't a fan.

During a recent appearance on wife Peta Murgatroyd's podcast "The Penthouse With Peta," Chmerkovskiy slammed the addition of Ravnik as a professional partner for Season 34 of "Dancing With the Stars," calling the casting "absurd."

"Jan has absolutely no business being a pro on 'Dancing With the Stars,'" said Chmerkovskiy, who competed as a pro on 17 seasons of the ABC series. "There's zero foundation, technique, quality, understanding of the partnership. 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. 

"He had no idea what foxtrot is supposed to look like," he continued. "We had this criticism weeks ago, and I'm like, 'Bro, is anybody going to explain it to him?' And then we saw one dance that delivered some sort of direction. ... And then it's just been off the cliff. Jan, whoever he is, I have zero against him whatsoever. This was a missed opportunity. [Jen Affleck is at] a major disadvantage. She has no partner."

Although Murgatroyd initially urged Chmerkovskiy to give Ravnik some grace, as it's his first season as a pro — prior to the reality competition, he broke out as a backup dancer on Taylor Swift's Eras Tour — she ultimately agreed with her husband that Ravnik's ballroom technique doesn't pass muster.

"He's a Taylor Swift dancer, it's the obvious reason why he's hired, apart from that he's a lovely guy, he looks great, he obviously is a great dancer," Murgatroyd said. "Hiring a non-ballroom dancer to teach ballroom dancing to a celebrity, as a job, is outrageous."

She also suggested that Ravnik should have been part of the "DWTS" troupe first, where he could have honed his ballroom skills before becoming a pro in the cast.

ABC did not immediately respond to TVLine's request for comment. Ravnik's partner, "Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star Jen Affleck, meanwhile appeared to acknowledge Chmerkovskiy's comments in a TikTok post on Monday, which she captioned, "We don't tolerate Jan slander in this house!!"

New episodes of "Dancing With the Stars" air Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC. Do you agree with Chmerkovskiy's assessment of Ravnik as a pro? Vote in our poll below, then hit the comments!