"Halloween Night" ended up being the most shocking night of Dancing With The Stars Season 34 yet, as Jen Affleck and Jan Ravnik were eliminated. To think that the Eras Tour dancer was sent home on a night when he performed to not one, but two Taylor Swift songs is wild. It also is a big deal because it happened the week after Maks Chmerkovskiy made comments about his work as a pro. Now, immediately after his elimination, Ravnik has responded to the former DWTS pro's comments.
Ravnik responded to Chmerkovskiy's comments, which essentially stated that his lack of ballroom-dancing experience meant he had "no business" being a pro on DWTS. While Jen Affleck seemingly responded to those comments, Ravnik opted not to say anything until after his elimination and shared his thoughts on what Chmerkovskiy said with Us Weekly. Here's what he said:
I mean, look, everyone has [an] opinion. Everyone has a right to have [an] opinion. Haters [are] going to hate and whoever loves us, loves us. What am I going to do? You can’t change their mind. Everyone can have [an] opinion — either I respect [it] or don’t respect [it]. Yeah, let them talk. If they want to stay relevant in that way, yeah, let them hate.
Well, the Eras Tour dancer certainly didn't hold back his thoughts on the matter, and it seems like he's letting what Maks Chmerkovskiy said go.
It is worth noting that while Maks' brother Val Chmerkovskiy remains in the show and is currently competing with TikTok influencer Alix Earle, he hasn't competed on a season of Dancing With The Stars since Season 25. However, he has been vocal about his thoughts on the show and the people competing on it.
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Now, back to the elimination. Jen and Jan were the third-lowest-scoring couple of "Halloween Night," finishing in front of Elaine Hendrix, who did not compete due to injury, and Andy Richter. Richter's streak of staying in Dancing With The Stars despite low scores continued, following a spirited performance calling back to his role in Scary Movie 2.
The most shocking part of Jan and Jen's elimination is that, aside from criticisms about dancing ability, Dancing With The Stars is a popularity contest. I, personally, had assumed we'd be seeing the duo on finale night, simply because I thought he'd have the voting power of Swifties behind him the entire way. That was not the case, and apparently, more viewers are voting for Andy Richter.
That said, some additional factors could've played into Richter and Elaine Hendrix outlasting Jan Ravnik and Jennifer Affleck on the show despite lower scores. Hendrix, no doubt, received some sympathy votes after injuring herself in rehearsals and being unable to compete during the show.
As for Richter, word got out on the internet that it was his birthday, and while Dancing With The Stars didn't make mention of it, I'm sure many fans learned about it. Plus, as the weeks go on, it's clear he's a big fan-favorite. In any case, what's done is done, and I'm eager to keep watching the rest of this season with the rest of my Disney+ subscription!
Dancing With The Stars continues on ABC and Disney+ on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Get ready for "Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame" night, because it should be an episode full of inventive dance moves. Then, brace yourselves for the next elimination, because every week it gets harder to see a couple go home.
