Actor and musician Corey Feldman appears to be buying into the narrative that flattery gets you everywhere.
Fresh off the back of his tirade at the alleged ‘toxicity’ behind the scenes at Dancing with the Stars, 54-year-old Feldman shared a gushing Instagram post about the professional dance partner, Jenna Johnson.
‘A final rehearsal, in the ballroom w the gorge & supremely talented dancer/choreographer @jennajohnson rehearsing r #lastdance,’ he wrote in the caption alongside a selfie with Johnson. The post went up less than 24 hours before Tuesday night’s competition final.
But the excitement doesn’t seem to be mutual. Despite sharing a slew of content from backstage on her own social media accounts, Johnson, 31, hasn’t featured any photos of Feldman – nor has she liked or commented on his post.
Her hesitation might stem from a lethargy at his recent rehashing – live on radio – of the criticism he faced from Johnson’s brother-in-law and fellow DWTS professional Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
During a appearance on a Los Angeles radio show on November 23, Feldman also revealed his disinterest at returning to the ABC show one last time. (He will be part of the series tradition that brings back eliminated dancers for a group number during the finale.)
Insiders have told the Daily Mail that Feldman, still reportedly bitter at his week-two exit from the ballroom competition, is attempting to start a ‘family feud’ between the siblings-by-marriage – but he is being largely ignored behind the scenes.
Insiders have told the Daily Mail that Corey Feldman (right), still bitter at his early exit from the ballroom competition, is attempting to start a ‘family feud’ with his pro partner Jenna Johnson (left)
It comes as Feldman (right) returned to the show, sharing a selfie with Johnson (left) on Instagram ahead of the finale, two months after he was eliminated
‘It clearly showed in Corey’s performance that he wasn’t able to commit to the expectations of a DWTS celebrity and is now just calling out the “toxicity” because he couldn’t make it past week two,’ our source said.
‘He’s attempting to start this family feud between Jenna and Maks, and it’s not his place to talk about them just for attention. The fact that he’s still harping on about Maks is kind of unreal since it’s been weeks… This isn’t something [Maks] would address further. He made his comments and moved on.’
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail earlier this year, Chmerkovskiy, 45, had laid bare the ‘difficulty’ that two-time DWTS champion Johnson faced when partnered with Feldman, demanding she be shown the ‘respect’ she deserved. He told the Daily Mail she was ‘miserable’ about her pairing.
Feldman’s dedication to the show was pulled into question days before the premiere back in September after he missed rehearsals for five days – and his apparent lack of practice showed, as he received the joint lowest score (a nine out of 20) for their Tango to Billy Joel’s It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.
At the time, insiders told the Daily Mail that this season was ‘a s**t show’ with multiple stars failing to commit to the demands of the competition.
On Sunday, Feldman – known for his role in the Goonies – talked about the alleged maliciousness between cast members and competitors, and seemingly condemned Johnson for rolling her eyes when he voiced his concerns about Chmerkovskiy’s comments.
‘There was a lot of stupidity in the mudslinging that went on behind the scenes,’ he told Gurvey’s Law Radio Show. ‘Actually there, everything was great. But the behind-the-scenes drama and BS that people throw around that show – I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s the worst, like, most toxic.’
Earlier this year, Maksim Chmerkovskiy (pictured), 45, laid bare the difficulty his sister-in-law Johnson, 31, faced when partnered with Feldman, demanding she be shown the ‘respect’ she deserved
But according to our insider, it is a case of crossed wires combined with Feldman’s alleged tendency to ‘exaggerate the environment and spin things.’
‘Jenna making those comments about her brother-in-law were all in good fun to try to calm him down – like, “Oh it’s just Maks being Maks,”‘ they said. ‘Corey took it the wrong way.’
His selfie with Johnson on Monday is confusing to fans and followers, given his comments about the show.
When asked by the radio host if he was ‘excited’ for Tuesday’s reunion, he said, ‘No. No.’ And when Gurvey’s co-host Kerri Kasem claimed she was ‘jealous’ of him being on the dance show, Feldman replied, ‘Don’t be.’
Perhaps his return is an attempt to stay in the good books of show bosses – who have ‘told everyone to not publicly address Corey’s comments,’ a second source told the Daily Mail.
But a third insider claimed his return to the beloved ballroom show was an attempt to clear the air and put all the negativity behind them before the season wraps.
‘Corey is not backing off what he said, but he is looking to mend some fences on the night,’ the insider told the Daily Mail. ‘He wants to take the time to reiterate that he really enjoyed working with Jenna and his fellow cast members, the pros and the crew.
‘He is excited to have this last dance and hopefully leave all the negativity behind. It is unlikely that these people will all be in the same room together again, so the key is to get through it, have fun and move on.’
