Jenna Dewan Reacts to ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Casting Backlash

Jenna Dewan joined Dancing With the Stars for season 35, and the reaction to her casting has been mixed, to say the least. Mostly because some fans believe the show should only cast celebrities with zero (or at least limited) dance experience, while Jenna started her career as a professional dancer.Aside from acting in the Step Up movies, Jenna was a backup dancer for Janet Jackson—appearing in the video for “Doesn’t Really Matter” back in 2000 before joining her on tour. However, Jenna has zero experience with ballroom, which she just pointed out while addressing backlash to her casting.“I do not know how to ballroom dance. Let’s be clear. It’s two different languages,” Jenna told Entertainment Weekly. “There’s parts of my dance training that’s helpful, obviously. I’ve learned choreography, I can perform, but there is a certain sense of unlearning for me. It’s a new technique, brand new technique. It almost threw me off initially because I had to unlearn a lot of—I don’t want to say bad habits—but just habits of the style that I’m used to.”She added that ballroom “feels really foreign,” adding, “It’s not like you’re giving me a style that I’ve done—I can go out there and do that. It has its advantages, but it also has its challenges. But that was part of why I wanted to do it. I really wanted to challenge myself.”Jenna is partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy, and we’ll get to see them dance in just a few weeks when Dancing With the Stars premieres on September 15 on ABC and Disney+ (reminder: it streams the next day on Hulu).