Overview
- Chmerkovskiy posted videos of himself with cornrows on social platforms earlier this week and took out the braids before Tuesday's live Dancing With the Stars episode.
- In interviews he said he loved the look, praised the Black-owned salon that styled him, and described trying to learn about the hairstyle's importance.
- Chmerkovskiy criticized online reaction as part of a 'rage-bait' economy and said social media makes it hard to tell real criticism from manufactured or automated content.
- The DWTS rumba with partner Jenna Dewan went ahead on Tuesday and earned 24 out of 30 from the judges, with positive on-air feedback from Derek Hough and Carrie Ann Inaba.
- Reaction on TikTok and X was mixed, including quoted critical posts and a public comment from fellow contestant Ciara Miller, underlining wider tensions over non-Black public figures wearing traditionally Black hair and the scrutiny they face.