Jenna Dewan Faces Major DWTS Backlash — Step Up Star Addresses Critics Who Say Her Dance Background Gives Her An Unfair Advantage

Jenna Dewan is no stranger to the dance floor. Long before becoming a Hollywood star through Step Up, she was already working professionally as a dancer, performing alongside some of the biggest names in pop music.

Now, more than two decades after dancing for Janet Jackson, Dewan is preparing to enter a very different kind of dance competition — and her casting on season 35 of Dancing With the Stars has already sparked controversy.

The actress is set to compete with professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy, but almost immediately after the cast announcement, some fans questioned whether Dewan’s extensive dance background gives her an advantage over contestants without professional dance experience.

Dewan, however, insists there is a major difference between what she knows and what she is now being asked to learn.

During an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Dewan opened up about the criticism and explained why returning to competitive dance is actually much more challenging than some viewers might assume.

Jenna Dewan’s Dance Past Comes Back Into The Spotlight

For Dewan, dancing has been part of her life since long before she became known for her acting career.

In the early 2000s, she worked as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson between the ages of 18 and 20. She also performed for other major artists, including Justin Timberlake, and appeared in music videos for stars such as Mandy Moore and Toni Braxton.

But it was her breakout role in the 2006 movie Step Up that transformed her into a household name among dance fans.

The film, which also starred her then-husband Channing Tatum, became closely associated with Dewan’s dance background and helped establish her as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable dance performers.

That history is precisely what has caused some DWTS viewers to question the casting.

For some fans, the idea of a former professional dancer entering a competition built around celebrities learning ballroom dance feels unfair.

But Dewan sees the situation differently.

“I Do Not Know How To Ballroom Dance”

Dewan acknowledged that her previous training will help her in certain areas.

She already understands choreography. She knows how to perform in front of an audience. She understands musicality and has spent years using her body to tell stories through movement.

But ballroom dancing, she says, is something else entirely.

“I do not know how to ballroom dance,” Dewan explained.

She described ballroom as essentially “two different languages” from the dance styles she has spent most of her career performing.

That distinction has become central to her defense.

Rather than walking into Dancing With the Stars already knowing the techniques required, Dewan says she has had to adjust — and even “unlearn” some of the habits developed through years of other forms of dance.

Her experience may give her certain advantages, but it also creates its own set of challenges.

In fact, Dewan admitted that her dance background can sometimes make her even more nervous.

Ballroom feels unfamiliar to her, meaning she cannot simply rely on the styles she already knows.

Her Janet Jackson Connection Makes The Story Even More Fascinating

Perhaps the most unexpected part of Dewan’s DWTS journey is how closely it connects to one of the earliest dreams of her life.

Dewan revealed that Janet Jackson was once the person she most desperately wanted to dance for.

“Janet was my first vision board moment of my life,” she said.

As a teenager, Dewan dreamed about becoming one of Jackson’s dancers. Eventually, that dream became reality.

Now, more than 20 years later, she is still close with Jackson and even joked about occasionally breaking into Jackson’s famous choreography.

The connection could potentially become part of her Dancing With the Stars journey.

When asked whether she might dance to Janet Jackson’s music during the season — or whether Jackson herself could make an appearance in the ballroom — Dewan expressed hope for both possibilities.

For fans who remember Dewan’s early career, that could create one of the show’s most emotional full-circle moments.

Val Chmerkovskiy Has A Different Take On The Controversy

Dewan isn’t facing the criticism alone.

Her professional partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, has competed on 20 seasons of Dancing With the Stars and has won the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy three times.

Rather than treating Dewan’s background as a problem, Chmerkovskiy argues that the entire premise of the show is more complicated than simply asking who can dance.

“It’s all relative,” he explained.

According to Chmerkovskiy, DWTS isn’t solely about technical dance ability. The competition is also about personality, vulnerability, storytelling and the journey contestants experience throughout the season.

He believes that is where he and Dewan have an advantage.

His focus, he said, isn’t simply on showing audiences that Dewan can dance.

Instead, he wants viewers to see another side of her — as a woman, a mother and someone getting the opportunity to return to something she loves.

That approach could ultimately be what separates their partnership from the rest of the cast.

“With Great Talent Comes Incredible Expectation”

Chmerkovskiy did not pretend Dewan’s experience doesn’t matter.

He openly acknowledged that she is entering the competition with “incredible talent.”

But he also pointed out that talent brings enormous expectations.

That creates a challenge of its own.

Audiences have already seen Dewan perform at a very high level. The question now is whether she can show them something they have never seen from her before.

And that is exactly what Chmerkovskiy wants to accomplish.

He plans to push Dewan beyond what audiences already associate with her — beyond the dance styles that made her famous and into territory where even her professional experience cannot completely protect her.

Dewan even jokingly interrupted when Chmerkovskiy referred to having seen her perform at the highest level, reminding him that those performances happened many years ago.

The exchange highlighted something important about their partnership: they appear to understand the expectations surrounding them, but they aren’t taking themselves too seriously.

A Partnership Already Showing Signs Of Chemistry

Despite the controversy surrounding her casting, Dewan appears to be enjoying the experience.

She described Chmerkovskiy as a supportive teacher who knows when to push her without making the process overwhelming.

For Dewan, that balance is important.

She said the two are already working hard while still finding time to joke, laugh and have fun together.

That chemistry could become increasingly important once the competition begins.

Because while Dewan may have years of dance experience behind her, Dancing With the Stars is not simply about executing choreography.

Contestants have to connect with an audience, adapt to unfamiliar styles and deliver performances under pressure.

And every week brings a new opportunity for the judges and viewers to decide whether they deserve to stay.

A Star-Studded Season 35

Dewan and Chmerkovskiy will be competing alongside a particularly varied group of celebrities in season 35.

The cast includes Julia Stiles, Harry Shum Jr., Tatyana Ali, Tyler Cameron, Giada De Laurentiis, Maura Higgins, Ciara Miller, Taylor Hanson, Sarah Jane Nader, Guillermo Rodriguez, Jackson Olson, Ezra Frech, Amber Glenn, Conner Leavitt and Connor Wood.

With such a diverse lineup, Dewan’s casting is unlikely to be the only storyline attracting attention.

But her professional dance history makes her one of the contestants viewers will be watching particularly closely.

The question is no longer simply whether Jenna Dewan can dance.

She obviously can.

The real question is whether she can convince skeptical viewers that ballroom dancing is different enough to make her journey genuinely unpredictable.

The Biggest Test May Be Winning Over The Critics

The backlash surrounding Dewan’s casting could ultimately become one of the biggest narratives of her DWTS run.

If she dominates immediately, critics may argue that the casting was unfair all along.

But if she struggles with ballroom technique, has difficulty adapting or reveals a side of herself audiences have never seen before, the criticism could begin to look very different.

That is the gamble.

Dewan already knows how to perform. She knows how to command attention. She has spent years dancing professionally and entertaining enormous audiences.

But now she has to step into a world where her previous experience does not automatically make her an expert.

And with Chmerkovskiy determined to push her beyond the dance persona audiences already know, the competition could reveal a completely different Jenna Dewan.

Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars premieres across two nights, Tuesday, September 15, and Wednesday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.

For Dewan, the challenge is clear: prove that even someone who has spent years dancing professionally can still have something completely new to learn.