By Page Six | Created at 2026-10-18 22:01:50 | Updated at 2026-10-18 23:28:53
1 hour ago
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At this point, we’re rumbling with the stars.
Former “Dancing With the Stars” pro Gleb Savchenko kept the show’s behind-the-scenes drama going by brutally criticizing fellow pro dancer Alan Bersten’s skill level, after it was announced Bersten would be replacing Val Chmerkovskiy on the show’s “Dedication Night” following Chmerkovskiy’s suspension.
Savchenko, 43, shaded Bersten, 32, during a TikTok livestream while giving his thoughts on the replacement choice.
“Alan, I think he’s Alan. I mean, he’s just not up to the level of dancing, like, period — quality, the technique,” he said bluntly.
“He’s a good dancer, I guess, for TV, but if we talk about art? Like, creating art? He’s like, eh,” he continued. “I don’t want to like, talk s–t about people, I’m just being honest.”
Savchenko then suggested a dancer from the troupe this season should have been chosen instead to dance with Chmerkovskiy’s celebrity partner, “Step Up” actress Jenna Dewan.
“I don’t have anything against the guy, just, like, why Alan?” Savchenko questioned.
Page Six has reached out to representatives for Savchenko and Bersten for comment.
Interestingly enough, Bersten has won the Mirrorball Trophy before, while Savchenko hasn’t. Bersten and his Season 28 partner, “Bachelorette” star Hannah Brown, took home the top prize in 2019, while the highest Savchenko has ever placed was fourth — which he has done three times.
Bersten competed on the current season of “DWTS,” but he and his partner, Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis, were eliminated on “Viral Hits Night” in week two.
Savchenko was surprisingly cut ahead of Season 35 after competing as a pro since 2016 — though last month he promised fans he was “good” with the decision.
“Nothing but love and gratitude for all the years in that ballroom,” he posted on Instagram. “Excited for this next chapter — and wishing everyone an amazing season. 🪩.”
“No sad messages,” he added. “We’re moving forward. 😉.”
Meanwhile, Chmerkovskiy was shockingly suspended from “DWTS” for one week following his controversial social media post referencing Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap while defending his wife, fellow “DWTS” pro Jenna Johnson, after a tense exchange with judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
“You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” Chmerkovskiy wrote in a since-deleted TikTok status — seemingly referring to Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock before he instructed him to keep wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s name out of his mouth at the 2022 Oscars.
Inaba and fans criticized the comment, and Chmerkovskiy was suspended from the show
The dancer has since apologized, telling Page Six in a statement Saturday that he “made a poor decision to reference a meme to ‘keep my wife’s name’ out of the conversation, without stopping to think through what else that reference could imply, which was genuinely never my intention.”
“Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was,” he said, adding that he does not want to “be a distraction” from the work Dewan has been putting in the competition.
“Dancing with the Stars” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streams on Disney+.
For more of Page Six’s “Dancing With the Stars” coverage, click here.
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