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‘Dancing With the Stars' Maks Chmerkovskiy Slams "Absurd" Jan Ravnik Casting
Jen Affleck is giving low scores to loud critics.
After former Dancing With the Stars pros Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd criticized Jan Ravnik’s casting on season 34, the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star responded to online “slander” about her dance partner.
In an Oct. 27 TikTok video, Jen frustratedly typed on her phone while Jan, 30, sat next to her and shook his head as the clip’s audio track said, “Take it down, take it down, take it down, we need it gone. Take it down, that doesn’t represent me or what we need to be doing.”
In response, Jen exuded annoyance and rolled her eyes as she stopped typing. Atop the clip, she wrote, “Me when anyone talks trash about Jan.”
The 26-year-old—who shares kids Nora, 3, Luca, 2, and Penelope, 3 months, with husband Zac—added in the caption, “We don't tolerate Jan slander in this house.”
She received a wave of support in the comments, including from fellow Dancing With the Stars pro Ezra Sosa, who wrote, “I’ll ride at dawn for this man.”
Three days before, Maks—who performed as a professional on the ABC competition series for 18 seasons between 2006 and 2017—and his wife Peta—who last appeared on season 32 in 2023—gave their honest thoughts about Jan’s first season on the show following his stint as a backup dancer on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
Disney/Eric McCandless
"I'm sorry, Jan has absolutely no business being a pro on Dancing with the Stars," Maks, 45, said on the Oct. 24 episode Peta’s The Penthouse With Peta podcast. "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."
Of Jen and Jan’s Wicked performance during the Oct. 21 episode, he added, "He had no idea what foxtrot is supposed to look like. How are you going to expect him to teach it and deliver that message in a format that is completely different from even ballroom dancing? We had this criticism weeks ago, and I'm like, 'Bro is anybody going to explain it to him?'"
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Peta, 39, agreed with her husband, sharing 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.”
However, she added, “Hiring a non-ballroom dancer to teach ballroom dancing to a celebrity as a job is outrageous."
E! News has reached out to ABC and Jan for comment and has yet to hear back.
Read on to learn some behind-the-scenes details about Dancing With the Stars.
ABC/Paula Lobo
How Much Do the Celebrities Get Paid to Be on Dancing With the Stars?
Citing multiple sources, Variety reported in 2019 that Dancing With the Stars contestants make $125,000 for the rehearsal period and first two weeks of the show. If they progress beyond that point, the outlet continued, they earn more money each week. At the time, sources told the publication stars could earn a maximum of $295,000.
However, Bobby Bones said he made more than this when he won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018.
"That show pays OK," the radio personality said on a Sept. 2025 episode of Jason Tartick's podcast Trading Secrets. "Like, first episode, no money. Second episode, $10,000. I think it's like, $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000. It ends up being $50,000 an episode if you last."
Also receiving a base salary of around $110,000, Bones continued, "I ended up making close to $400,000 from that show."
ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.
Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images
What Do the Pros Get Paid on Dancing With the Stars?
Similarly, little has been shared publicly about how much the pros get paid. But as with the contestants, it seems like the longer they're on the show, the more money they can make.
But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they're not leaving the ballroom empty-handed.
"You're guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks," Jenna Johnson said on a June 2025 episode of Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester's podcast The Morning After. "I think there's different contracts though. I can't speak for everybody."
Disney/Eric McCandless
Do Pros Get Paid More If They Win Dancing With the Stars?
Apparently not.
While Johnson—who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, as well as season 33 with The Bachelor's Joey Graziadei—says the pros don't get a larger paycheck if they take home what is now called the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, she noted there's still an incentive to make it to the finale (besides bragging rights, of course).
"If you make it all the way to the end, you're getting paid the whole season, which is amazing, and you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale," she explained on The Morning After. "If you win, it's not like you win a $1 million and split it with your partner. You're just getting a cute trophy together."
Instagram / Dancing With the Stars
Do the Troupe Members Get Paid as Much as the Pros on Dancing With the Stars?
That doesn't appear to be the case.
On a 2022 episode of Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold recalled how her salary was cut "more than in half" when she was demoted from pro to troupe member.
Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images
How Are Pros and Celebrities Paired Together on Dancing With the Stars?
The pros get little input when it comes to being matched with a celebrity.
"You get no say," Lindsay said on a May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers' Hot Smart Rich podcast. "It's very much just, 'Here's your partner. Make it work.'"
In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute.
"They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live," Jenna said on The Morning After. "They want that genuine reaction. So I think people always think we know who we have and we're keeping it a secret. Absolutely not. They do not tell us. They really don't even want us to know the cast. It gets leaked a lot, but they want it very hush-hush until you walk in and meet your partner."
As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches?
"It's based on height, build and personality and compatibility," former showrunner Rob Wade told E! News in 2015. "We don't pair people who aren't going to get on. It's too intense. It's not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn't do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don't want to see two people who don't like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn't get on so well."
Disney/Eric McCandless
How Often Do the Pros and Celebrities Practice on Dancing With the Stars?
Put simply, a lot.
"Every day we have four-hour rehearsals," Rylee Arnold, who was partnered with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik on season 33, shared on a September 2024 episode of the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis. "It’s either 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m."
But the work doesn't stop once the rehearsal wraps. Rylee noted she might then meet with producers or the creative team, work on choreography or study dance videos.
"Literally my whole life is devoted to it," she continued, "but it's my passion and it's what I love. So, it makes me so happy."
Indeed, it's a no-days-off kind of gig.
"We have our show day on Tuesday and then it's Wednesday to Sunday, straight rehearsals," Rylee added. "And then Monday we have camera blocking and then Tuesday's show day again."
Instagram / Emma Slater
Do the Pros Get to Pick the Songs Each Week for Their Dance With Their Celebrity Partner?
"Mostly yes," Emma Slater and Britt Stewart revealed in a September 2025 Instagram video, "though it's a collaboration with producers."
Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images
What's the Process Like for Making the Costumes for Dancing With the Stars?
If you thought the quickstep was fast, just wait until you hear about the pace of the costume department.
"We meet with the set and lighting designers, dancers and talent and create a story [for each pair]," costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner told TV Insider back in 2017. "Then we sketch out ideas. We have five days, max, to make all the outfits. That’s half a day per costume, not including all the rhinestones. The fitting and trimming we do later. We have about 20 people in our department and then we have a separate tailor shop. It’s a big enterprise."
In fact, costume designer Steven Norman Lee said pairs usually try on their costumes for the first time just hours before showtime. And while the department "might use a pair of pants again for the boys," he continued, everything is generally made custom each week.
As Gschwendtner added, "We do reuse things for group numbers or promo shoots, but not for the competition. We don’t reuse things unless there’s a specific reason to do so. We try to keep everybody fresh and new in something different every week, so it stays interesting."
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