Dancing with the Stars pro dancer Artem Chigvintsev says he’s done worrying about Carrie Ann Inaba’s harsh critiques of his performances with his celebrity partner, former Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe.
In a new interview, the Russian-American choreographer said both he and Kaitlyn are ready to move on from the drama with the DWTS judge that he dated more than a decade ago.
“I’m kind of over it,” Artem told Entertainment Tonight ahead of the duo’s Icons Night dance.
“I mean, we can’t spend any more time trying to figure this out. I think all we’re going to do is come up with a great routine so we can get a good score. I think it’s like chasing something you can’t really chase at this point.”
While they still hope to make it to the Season 29 finale, Kaitlyn agreed that it’s time to just move forward after an especially rough week that had online trolls weighing in. Some fans even bullied the longtime Dancing with the Stars judge over her harsh critique of the couple.
“She’s a tough judge,” Kaitlyn said of Carrie Ann. “I think she’s just maybe holding me to a higher standard. …This is her job, this is what she’s been doing for years.”
Kaitlyn added that she knows how nasty people can be on the internet.
“[Carrie Ann] can have her opinions and we can all not agree with them but it doesn’t mean we have to go out and shame her for what she’s doing,” she said.
Artem and Kaitlyn have been vocal about what they felt was harsh criticism and unfair scoring from Carrie Ann after she docked them for a questionable “lift.” The former Fly Girl also previously accused Kaitlyn of giving up during one of her dances.
Last week, Artem told Entertainment Tonight the critiques were starting to feel “a little personal.” He added that he and Kaitlyn didn’t think they could do anything right in Carrie Ann’s eyes and he felt that at this point in the competition, they were “never going to make her happy.”
While he may have “given up” on getting a high score from Carrie Ann — or at least talking about it — Artem is pulling out all the stops to get Dancing with the Stars home viewers to vote for him and Kaitlyn to advance to next week’s semi-finals.
The new dad, who just welcomed a baby boy with fiancée Nikki Bella, shared a shirtless photo on Instagram as he got ready for his Monday night dance with Kaitlyn.
“Sasha Pasha Gleb Vibes lol,” he wrote, referencing three fellow DWTS pro dancer hunks. “Had to jump on the shirtless trailer train for quarter-finals.”