Gleb Savchenko did not hide his opinion of a longtime “Dancing With the Stars” hopeful.
In an April 2024 interview with The U.S. Sun, the pro dancer reacted to reports that “Vanderpump Rules” star Scheana Shay had hoped to land a spot on the ABC celebrity ballroom competition for season 32. Shay’s co-star Ariana Madix, was cast on the show instead and finished in third place with Pasha Pashkov.
Speaking with The Sun, Savchenko hinted Shay doesn’t have what it takes to compete in the celebrity ballroom competition. “I’m glad Scheana didn’t go [on the show],” he said. “I don’t think she would’ve had the same chance as Ariana.”
On the “Vanderpump Rules” season 11 episode “Saw it on the Graham,” Shay complained to co-star Lala Kent about Madix getting cast for DWTS on the heels of the Sandoval cheating scandal. “Her getting ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ she knew how bad I wanted that,” Shay told Kent of Madix.
Gleb Savchenko Said Scheana Shay Can’t Dance
Savchenko knows Shay after partnering with her former SUR boss Lisa Vanderpump for DWTS season 16 in 2013. He told The Sun that in 2014 he helped choreograph the “Good as Gold” singer’s first dance for her wedding. “It wasn’t easy,” he noted.
Savchenko, who was last partnered with actress Mira Sorvino on DWTS season 32, has been vocal about how important it is to get a celebrity partner with a big fan base for viewer votes.
Of Shay, he said, “She’s an awesome girl and everything. But as my memory calls, I didn’t think she had a lot of dance experience. If you ever want to be on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and you feel like you have enough celebrity power to be on a show, whoever that is – it’s not just Scheana or anybody else – you should start taking classes.”
Fans were stunned by Savchenko’s bold comments about Shay, with one cracking that he “denounced” her.
In the r/vanderpumprules subreddit, one Reddit user wrote, “Oh wow Gleb woke up and chose violence, as a big DWTS fan this is an intersection of drama I never knew I needed this badly.”
“Hilarious that after saying how bad Scheana was at her first dance and how she doesn’t have as much star power he’s just like, ‘I still love her btw she’s great! Lol like sir,” another wrote.
“Gleb said ‘Team Ariana’ with his whole chest,” another wrote.
Scheana Shay Said She Would Never Want to Compete Against Ariana Madix
Shay was seen multiple times complaining about not being cast on DWTS. But she claimed that “Vanderpump Rules” viewers didn’t see the whole story. In a March 2024 interview on Heather McDonald’s “Juicy Scoop” podcast, Shay said viewers missed the “full conversations” about the DWTS drama.
She explained that she had been in contact with DWTS producers after they expressed interest in casting her. Shay claimed she was told she was “right up there” on the list of potential contestants for season 32. The Bravo star said she started taking dance classes “just in case.”
But after the Scandoval scandal put Madix in the headlines in March 2023, Shay’s producer friend her he was “pretty sure” they were going to reach out to Madix. Shay said she was “happy” for her co-star. “But if it wasn’t because of the scandal I was going to be on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” she added.
Shay elaborated on the situation on her podcast “Scheananigans with Scheana Shay.” “Ariana is an incredible dancer as we all saw on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” she said. “And there is no way in hell I would have wanted to compete against her on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’”
