Professional dancer Gleb Savchenko has reacted to his absence from the season 35 cast of Dancing With the Stars, telling fans in a September 2 Instagram video that they can stop apologising.
"Guys, you can stop telling me you're sorry," the 42 year old said. "I'm good."
The Dancing With the Stars season 35 cast was announced on September 2. Savchenko had competed on the television dance competition consistently since season 23 in 2016.
In his Instagram caption, Savchenko reiterated that he was fine with not returning to the ballroom. "Nothing but love and gratitude for all the years in that ballroom. Excited for this next chapter and wishing everyone an amazing season," he wrote.
"No sad messages," he added. "We're moving forward."
His season 34 dance partner, Hilaria Baldwin, commented on the post to offer her support. "Only good things. Next chapter is gonna be [boom emoji]," she wrote.
Hints of departure and Maura Higgins drama
Savchenko's absence comes more than a year after he hinted at his future with the series. Responding to a user in a since deleted TikTok comment, he wrote that he was "afraid you won't" see him on television again. In another reply, he told a user, "14 years of loyalty, erased by someone's lie."
Despite those comments, Savchenko did compete on season 34, and also appeared on Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro. He was paired with Adele Zaikman, who went on to win the competition.
Savchenko was recently involved in a custody dispute with his ex wife Elena Samodanova over their children Olivia, 15, and Zlata, 8.
Prior to the cast announcement, he also addressed comments from season 35 star Maura Higgins. The Love Island UK contestant had said she would not want to be paired with him because of his past relationship with her friend Brooks Nader, who was Savchenko's partner on season 33.
"Until I was asked to comment on this story, I'd genuinely never heard of this girl, Maura," Savchenko 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."
He added that he would "stay focused and leave the unnecessary drama to everyone else."
Season 35 cast list
Higgins is among a full roster of celebrities competing on season 35 of Dancing With the Stars, partnered with professional dancer Mark Ballas. In May, Higgins told E! News she had manifested her spot on the show.
"I have a vision board and I redo it every year," she said. "This year is the first year that I stayed at home by myself on New Year's Eve. I did not go out at all. I made myself a bowl of pasta and a glass of red wine and I redid my vision board for the year. Dancing With the Stars was already on it from the year before. However, I added five more Dancing With the Stars on the board."
The new cast includes Julia Stiles, star of 10 Things I Hate About You, who will dance with Ezra Sosa. Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis will compete alongside Alan Bersten.
Actor Harry Shum Jr., known for Glee, is paired with Jenna Johnson. Taylor Hanson, the former 1990s teen idol, will dance with Britt Stewart, and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actress Tatyana Ali is partnered with Jan Ravnik.
Jenna Dewan, who starred in the film Step Up 20 years ago, will dance with Val Chmerkovskiy. Amber Glenn, a 2026 Olympic figure skater, takes to the ballroom with Pasha Pashkov, while Ezra Frech, a Team USA Paralympic track and field athlete, is partnered with Daniella Karagach.
Sarah Jane Nader, star of Love Thy Nader and sister of season 33 competitor Brooks Nader, will dance with Hailey Bills. Comedian Connor Wood, known on social media as Fibula, is paired with Rylee Arnold.
Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Conner Leavitt follows his wife Whitney Leavitt, who competed on season 34. He is partnered with Adele Zaikman.
Bachelor Nation star Tyler Cameron will dance with Sharna Burgess. Jackson Olson, a baseball player for the Savannah Bananas, is paired with Emma Slater. Guillermo Rodriguez, from Jimmy Kimmel Live!, will dance with Witney Carson.
Summer House star Ciara Miller will compete alongside Brandon Armstrong. She told E! News in June about her preparations for the show.
"Looks are not indicative of being in shape," Miller said. "I do huff and puff going up the stairs, so I gotta get back into the gym and work on my stamina."
