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Val Chmerkovskiy may love his brother Maks Chmerkovskiy — just not all of his opinions. “That’s my guy. That’s my best friend. I always got his back,” Val, 39, shared with Access Hollywood about his brother after Dancing With the Stars’ Halloween Night episode on Tuesday, October 28. “You don’t have to like what he said. I don’t have to agree with what he said. But I’m always going to stand up for him.” During a recent appearance on wife Peta Murgatroyd‘s “The Penthouse With Peta” podcast, Maks, 45, made headlines when he criticized Jan Ravnik’s position on ABC’s reality show. “I’m sorry, Jan has absolutely no business being a pro on Dancing With the Stars,” Maks claimed. “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.” While Val said he’s “not going to bash” his brother’s opinion, he’s happy to publicly disagree. “Do I disagree with it? Yeah, completely. Do I think it’s hurtful for a current professional who is currently in the season to hear feedback like that? Of course, that’s incredibly hurtful,” Val shared shortly after dancing the tango with partner Alix Earle. “I still share space with Jan, and I made sure that we kind of had our conversation but I’ll say it again. I think he did an amazing job.” On Tuesday’s show, Ravnik, 30, and his partner — The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jen Affleck — were eliminated from the competition after failing to get enough votes from America. From Val’s perspective, Ravnik had a great first season that should leave him feeling more than good. “First time out, this is a much more intimidating position to be in than I think people at home imagine and I think he dealt with it — for a first-time pro — I’ll just say better than I did my first season,” Val explained when looking back on his own first season with actress Elisabetta Canalis in 2011. “I was eliminated second.” For his part, Ravnik appeared to be unbothered by Maks’ comments after he and Affleck, 26, danced a contemporary to Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do.” Who Will Win DWTS Season 34? “I mean, look, everyone has [an] opinion,” Ravnik exclusively told Us after his elimination. “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].” As the season continues on with Rock Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night scheduled for Tuesday, November 4, Val is hopeful both Affleck and Ravnik are proud of everything they accomplished in what is turning out to be an incredibly competitive season. “It’s hard, and I think he did an extraordinary job,” he concluded. “I think Jen should be very proud to have been partnered with him and listen, my brother has an opinion and that’s great.” Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
