Alan Bersten is heading to the Dancing with the Stars finals next week alongside his partner, Ilona Maher.
But this week, an old partner spoke out about her time on the show, and what she said may have future partners shaking in their boots.
Amanda Kloots was a guest on the Boyfriend Material podcast when she told Harry Jowsey how “mean” Alan was to her when she competed on Season 30.
Amanda and Alan came in fourth place that year, and the experience was quite stressful for her.
After her comments went public, Amanda tried to clarify what she said, claiming that she loved Alan and they were still close.
Alan has not commented on her podcast appearance; instead, he is focusing his efforts on getting votes for Ilona, as the finals are approaching.
Amanda Kloots claims Alan Bersten yelled at her
“He was very mean to me,” Amanda said of her partner, Alan Bersten.
She claimed, “Growing up Russian, growing up in that dance atmosphere. And he did see a lot of potential in me, and he saw that we could possibly win this thing.”
She continued, “And I think when a pro has a star that has that potential, they can get very mean because they’re like, I could win, I wanna win.”
“I would just keep it bottled up,” she said, “and we would just be dancing, and I would just be raging inside.”
“I got yelled at and the thing is like — I wanted to be good. I wanted to learn. I watched that show for 29 seasons before I got on it, so I was so excited to be there. I wanted to do well. I’m a dancer,” Amanda explained.
But that didn’t stop Amanda from feeling like she may have a breakdown and even claimed that she felt like that’s what the show wanted. But she didn’t let that happen because it would waste their practice time.
She explained that if she fell apart “the producers would come in, wanna do an OTF, and then we would lose an hour of our rehearsal time.”
Amanda Kloots takes credit for Alan Bersten’s softer demeanor
That doesn’t sound like a good time, but Amanda says that not only would she do Dancing with the Stars all over again, but she’d do it for free. The Talk co-host claims that she’s holding out for an all-star season so she can get back on the dance floor again.
And perhaps she’d be paired with Alan again. Especially now that he’s become nicer — something Amanda gives herself credit for.
She told Harry, “I think Alan has grown up a lot in the last couple of years. I’m saying this, and I know that he’ll agree with me: I helped him become a nicer person in teaching.”
Dancing with the Stars airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.