Former Dancing With the Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd is speaking out after her husband, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, made major headlines for sharing his thoughts on the show’s latest season.
“I knew that I wanted somebody in my life that was strong and passionate. Whatever he says, it really does come down to the passion behind it,” Murgatroyd, 39, said on the Friday, December 19, episode of the “Pod Meets World” podcast. “Yes, he may say things in the wrong tone. They may come out the wrong way. That’s his heritage, that’s his culture.”
Murgatroyd made it clear that she respects and loves her husband’s constant honesty.
“It doesn’t come from an angry, bitter place at all,” the professional dancer continued, noting that she didn’t expect him to garner so much attention with comments he made about DWTS earlier this year on her “The Penthouse With Peta” podcast.
Chmerkovskiy, 45, criticized first-time pro Jan Ravnik during an October episode of his wife’s podcast, claiming that Ravnik “has absolutely no business” being on DWTS.
“There’s zero foundation technique, quality, understanding of the partnership. Bro, I’m getting emotional,” Chmerkovskiy said at the time. “It is absurd, and this is unreal how blind we have to be and God forbid say what’s obviously there.”
After facing widespread backlash for his comments, Chmerkovskiy issued an apology to Ravnik, offering to meet up so they can “bury the hatchet.”
Murgatroyd reflected on the incident on “Pod Meets World,” telling host and former DWTS contestant Danielle Fishel, “That was a lot.”
“I don’t want to, like, push him down. What am I doing? He is who he is. I married him because of that,” Murgatroyd continued. “Why am I gonna say, ‘Baby, you got to say it like this.’ I’m gonna give him free reign, and then, if we need to chop stuff out, we’re gonna chop stuff out.”
Murgatroyd speculated that “people are so afraid” to share their opinions publicly — but her husband is not.
“It’s debilitating when you can’t have an opinion or say what you really feel. Yes, we don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings at all. That was the one thing that I’m like, ‘Oh, my God. Absolutely not,’” she continued. “But everybody should be allowed to have an opinion and not be taken down for it.”
Murgatroyd added, “Everyone’s so vanilla right now. … Everyone is playing it so safe. I’m not just talking [about] what we do, but, like, the world in general. You’re going to be canceled if you say this. It’s just hard.”
This is not the first time Murgatroyd has addressed her husband’s comments publicly.
“Before we get into this week’s breakdown, I want to take a moment to address what happened last week,” she said during an October episode of her podcast. “Some of our critiques came off more harshly than intended. I wanted to be really clear that was never the goal.”
Murgatroyd added, “We never want to condone hate or personal attacks of any kind. We love Dancing With the Stars. It’s one of the best shows on television, and a show that has given me so much over the years.”
