‘DWTS’ Season 34: Eliminated Pro Had ‘Difficult Time’ With Celebrity Partner, Family Member Says

Dancing With the Stars pro Jenna Johnson had a “difficult time” with celebrity partner Corey Feldman prior to their elimination in Tuesday’s episode of the ABC dance competition.

Ahead of the first elimination episode, former DWTS pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who is Johnson’s brother-in-law, told the Daily Mail that she had struggled being partnered with Feldman, who earned just a 9 out of a possible 20 during the premiere episode for his tango to Billy Joel’s “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.”

“All the cast show up, you know, all smiles and say how great they are together and ‘we’re friends’ and blah, blah, blah, but that’s surface,” Chmerkovskiy explained of the relationship between pros and their celebrity partners. “Sometimes it’s not the case.”

He continued, “Obviously, Jenna has a bit of an uphill climb with Corey, which is easy for everybody to say from [outside], but I know that she’s having a much more difficult time with this entire thing and to the point that it is really difficult for her,” adding, “And so, I wish her all the best. We’re here. Obviously, we’re all together if you need to be, but you’re talking about a reigning champ, so put some respect on the name, everybody.”

Chmerkovskiy said he felt it was a “combination” of technique and work ethic that had Feldman struggling with the choreography, not his age. “Maybe it’s not such a comfort zone for him,” he hypothesized, adding that competing on the show is a “very hard process” in general.

“Don’t forget this production is not just about you and your partner dancing, it’s about this massive behemoth of everything that’s happening – the amount of people that you have to deal with, the amount of interviews, and this is all between your rehearsal time and your therapy, and you are trying to lick your wounds and all that stuff,” he said, adding, “So it is a very hard process, very difficult. I don’t know what age he is, I don’t know what he’s gone through, but I’m very intrigued by the character that is Corey Feldman and the couple that him and Jenna [are].”

An insider also teased to the Daily Mail that Chmerkovskiy’s brother, Val Chmerkovskiy, was also having a tough time with his partner, influencer Alix Earle. “Val and Jenna are miserable, but they have been specifically warned by producers: ‘we don’t complain about our celebrity participants,’” the source disclosed.

Feldman was not the only celebrity sent packing in Tuesday’s double elimination. NBA player Baron Davis, who was paired with Britt Stewart, was also eliminated after his samba to “Return of the Mack.”

Dancing With the Stars Season 34 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+ and streams the next day on Hulu.