Tatyana Ali thanked fans for their support on Threads after the latest Dancing With the Stars episode and urged them to vote for her and her professional partner, Jan Ravnik. Her answer to a question about her Team Slaytopia picks, however, prompted speculation among viewers about why she chose those teammates.
One commenter asked why Ali, described as the lowest-scoring contestant, had not selected at least one star with a dance background. Another suggested she was deliberate about whom she chose to share the dance floor with. Ali replied, “Very much so,” without offering further explanation.
Some fans interpreted the brief response as a possible indication that Ali wanted to avoid working with Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson, linking the theory to a controversy from a few weeks earlier. Other viewers suggested she may simply have wanted to dance with Maura Higgins, Amber Glenn and Julia Stiles. Ali has not confirmed either interpretation.
The earlier controversy arose when Chmerkovskiy referenced Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars slap while defending his wife against criticism from Carrie Ann Inaba. It involved Ali’s former series, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. There is no confirmation that the incident influenced Ali’s team dance choices.
Sources: Cosmopolitan.