Gleb Savchenko isn’t taking back his comments about fellow “Dancing With the Stars” professional Alan Bersten, but he wants everyone to know there is no personal feud between them.
The 43-year-old dancer addressed the controversy during an interview with Us Weekly on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Despite previously questioning Bersten’s abilities, Savchenko insisted he has nothing against his fellow pro.
Savchenko Opens Up About Alan
“I mean, look, I love Alan. I think he’s a great guy, and there’s nothing personal at all,” he said. “In my opinion, every single professional dancer on the show is a star on its own. When you look up in the sky, there’s some stars that shine brighter, and some of them are not. So that’s what I’ve been coming from, because it’s just different.”
Savchenko also acknowledged that Bersten has plenty of strengths as a performer.
“There’s nothing personal. I love him. He’s my friend,” he continued. “People are just very sensitive nowadays and … there’s a lot of opinions from people who have no idea about ballroom dance.”
The comments follow Savchenko’s criticism of Bersten last month after he stepped in for Val Chmerkovskiy during season 35. Chmerkovskiy, 40, was briefly suspended following a controversial comment directed at judge Carrie Ann Inaba. The situation arose after Inaba called out an illegal lift in his wife Jenna Johnson’s Super Bowl Night routine with Harry Shum Jr.
Where the Discussion Stemmed From
With Chmerkovskiy sitting out for Dedication Night, Bersten partnered with Jenna Dewan for her Viennese waltz. Savchenko questioned the decision during an October TikTok livestream.
“Alan, I think he’s Alan. I mean, he’s just not up to the level of dancing, like, period,” he said. “[The] quality, the technique. He’s a good dancer, I guess, for TV, but if we talk about art? Like, creating art? … Who else is there?”
Savchenko later clarified that he wasn’t trying to personally attack Bersten. He said the dancer was talented in his own area but argued that he could not be compared with Chmerkovskiy.
During his latest interview, Savchenko made clear that his opinion about the dancing had not changed. However, he explained that his frustration was largely connected to how Chmerkovskiy was treated.
“I stand by my opinion, and I don’t really care what other people say. And I love the guy,” Savchenko said. “There’s nothing against him. I was kind of hurt for Val at some point because he’s a friend of mine.”
He also questioned whether Chmerkovskiy should have been suspended, suggesting producers had put the longtime pro in an unfair position.
Savchenko said he disagreed with the decision to “punish” Chmerkovskiy over the incident.
“It’s a TV show,” he added. “It’s not that serious.”
The dancer then described watching the situation unfold while vacationing in Spain.
“So when you do something like this, I’m sitting in Ibiza in Spain, sipping my wine and eating a prosciutto, and I’m like, ‘Damn, this guy [is] being treated like that?’”
While Savchenko has no plans to walk back his assessment, he continues to maintain that his criticism of Bersten’s dancing should not be mistaken for personal animosity.
Gleb Savchenko Sets the Record Straight About His Relationship With ‘DWTS’ Star Alan Bersten