Dance pro Gleb Savchenko reacted to his absence from season 35 of Dancing With the Stars: "Guys, you can stop telling me you’re sorry."
Gleb Savchenko won’t be moving and grooving on the dance floor this time.
After the cast of season 35 of Dancing With the Stars was announced Sept. 2, fans were quick to notice that the dance pro was left off the cast list, despite having competed on the show consistently since seasons 23 in 2016. But according to Savchenko, nothing is amiss with this footwork.
“Guys, you can stop telling me you’re sorry,” the 42-year-old told fans in a video posted to Instagram Sept. 2. “I’m good.”
He reiterated the sentiment in the caption, writing, “Nothing but love and gratitude for all the years in that ballroom. Excited for this next chapter—and wishing everyone an amazing season.”
“No sad messages,” he added. “We’re moving forward.”
Following his message, the dancer received love from season 34 partner Hilaria Baldwin who commented, “Only good things. Next chapter is gonna be [boom emoji].”
Savchenko’s season 35 absence comes just over a year after he’d hinted about his future with the series, responding to a user in a since-deleted TikTok comment that he was “afraid you won’t” see him on TV again.
He responded to another user, “14 years of loyalty, erased by someone’s lie.”
After the comments, though, Savchenko did appear on season 34 of the series and also appeared on the recent series Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro where he was paired with Adele Zaikman, who ultimately went on to win the competition.
Prior to the announcement of the season 35 cast, Savchenko—who was recently embroiled in a custody battle over kids Olivia, 15, and Zlata, 8, with ex-wife Elena Samodanova—also responded after this season's star Maura Higgins said she wouldn’t want to be paired with him due his past relationship with her friend Brooks Nader, who he was partnered with on season 33.
"Until I was asked to comment on this story, I’d genuinely never heard of this girl, Maura," he said in an August statement to the Daily Mail. "So I’m certainly not going to lose any sleep over the opinions of someone I’ve never met."
"It’s odd to publicly attack someone you’ve never even met," he continued, "but if that’s how she wants to make headlines before the show starts, that’s her choice."
The pro added that he would “stay focused and leave the unnecessary drama to everyone else."
For a look at all the stars and pros who are competing on season 35 of Dancing With the Stars, keep reading.
