Dancing With the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy isn’t giving 10s to DWTS: The Next Pro contestant AJ Pritchard for his attitude.
During Val and Danielle Fishel’s Stepping on Toes podcast, the pair recapped episode two of ABC’s best summer hit in 6 years.
Val admitted that AJ Pritchard‘s pompous behavior rubbed him the wrong way. AJ previously appeared as a professional dancer on the BBC One dance competition Strictly Come Dancing and was “arrogant” while competing with partner Selena Hamilton on The Next Pro.
“It makes good TV at his expense,” quipped Val. “I guess that’s how I want to say it. I wish he wrapped that arrogance into a little softer presentation.”
The three-time mirrorball winner continued, “I understand if he’s coming in with this feeling of like, ‘What am I even doing here? Why do I have to go through this process if I already know I’m good enough and I already did this.’ I can appreciate that, but dude, then don’t sign up for the show.”
“We’ve all got pedigree. Everybody’s won something. If you are going to show up, you gotta have humility in the sense that you got to prove yourself right now. There’s a reason why you’re here and no longer have a job there. So to be here, be present. Don’t live in the past.”
“We have a lot of incredible talent in the competitive ballroom community. Dancing With the Stars has been a vehicle to broadcast that talent to a wider audience, and very few have enjoyed it. It’s been life-changing. It’s nice to not gatekeep this awesomeness and allow a new generation to come in and enjoy it.”
“But they’ll have to go through me,” Val joked.
