‘DWTS’ Fans Are Convinced Jan Ravnik Threw Major Shade at Other Pro Dancers With His Season 35 “Anthem”

Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik advanced to Dancing With the Stars Season 35 semifinals after fan votes saved them from elimination, joining five other remaining couples.The pro dancer partner chose a Taylor Swift song as his season anthem, sparking fan theories that he was subtly calling out critics.Fans speculate that Jan might be throwing shade at former DWTS pros who publicly criticized his dancing abilities. Here’s what we know about the theories.Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik live to see another day on Dancing With the Stars, as they’re one of the six remaining couples in the competition. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum and pro dancer have officially made it to the season 35 semifinals after fan votes saved them from elimination on Tuesday night’s episode.During a post-show interview with USA Today, the pair were asked what their personal “anthem” for the season is—and fans are convinced Jan might have made a dig at certain DWTS pros who doubted his performance.The pro, who officially joined the cast after dancing with Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour in 2023 and 2024, went with a deep cut from her album The Tortured Poets Department.“I don’t have it,” he said at first, before he gave the camera a smirk with his final choice. “Yes, I can tease it. I mean… the entire journey, I would say ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.’ They will know.”In case you need a refresher, the track includes scathing lyrics like “And in plain sight you hid / But you are what you did / And I’ll forget you, but I’ll never forgive / The smallest man who ever lived.”Naturally, fans picked up what he (might have) been putting down.“Boss lady teaching him how to Easter egg,” one fan joked, referring to Taylor. Another added, “Jan is a fire breathing dragon and the people he is speaking to just got roasted,” while someone else said, “I love how petty Jan is.”Some speculated that his song choice could potentially point toward former DWTS pros Gleb Savchenko and Maks Chmerkovskiy, who have openly criticized his performances this season while placing bets on Kalshi.This isn’t the first time Maks has denounced Jan’s involvement on DWTS. During his first season on the beloved reality series, Maks slammed his dancing skills on an October 2025 episode of The Penthouse with Peta podcast.“I’m sorry, Jan has absolutely no business being a pro on Dancing with the Stars. There’s zero foundation, technique, quality, understanding of the partnership,” he told his wife, Peta Murgatroyd, at the time. He then publicly apologized to the Eras Tour alum to “bury the hatchet” after receiving backlash, according to People.What’s more: Maks’s brother, Val, was actually booted from the competition on November 10, and some clips show an awkward interaction between Jan and Val as he hugged him from behind.Anyway… Jan and Tatyana haven’t publicly addressed Gleb and Maks’ recent bets, but she did previously drop a three-word post on Threads that raised eyebrows.