AJ Pritchard’s fiancée Zara Zoffany has been forced to make a public apology to Dancing With The Stars’ Rylee Arnold after she took aim at her in a fiery social media comment.
American ballroom dancer Rylee was partnered with AJ for the semi-final stage of the DWTS: The Next Pro, where AJ is competing to win a spot as a pro dancer.
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Rylee, 21, dubbed AJ a “harsh critic” on the ABC show and it appeared to rile Zara up as she ranted about her in an Instagram comment and claimed she left him “slightly concussed” and needing “physio.”
Zara, who has been with AJ for about four years, received a slew of backlash after her tirade and has now attempted to make amends.
Taking to TikTok, Zara admitted: “I wasn’t going to say anything until after the finale but it’s just got to the point where I can’t just say nothing at all.
“The amount of hate that AJ has been getting for something that I have commented is actually crazy and I don’t want to go into the finale with you guys having a bitter taste in your mouth.
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“You guys have been making constant online videos about him about his sexuality, about our relationship… and calling him egotistical when he’s the first person to offer help to the other dancer about their technique.”
She continued: “It’s honestly been giving me anxiety everyday, not knowing what you guys are going to be saying about him, posting about him.
“So when we got the the Rylee edit I was already up to here with the villain edit…maybe Rylee did say a few nice things about him but I just feel like there’s a fine line between criticism and confidence.”
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“I just want to make it clear that I never said that she wasn’t qualified,” Zara said.
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“If you are watching this Rylee from the bottom of my heart I am truly sorry if I made you feel like a certain type of way, that was never my intention.”
Zara captioned the post: “I am sorry Rylee. I know whatever I say, people will disagree, but I just want to put this to bed, take accountability, and move on and celebrate the finalists in tonight’s show.”
The model told viewers she had been deleting comments and blocking trolls from her page because she “didn’t want that negativity” in her life.
Zara’s comment, which first sparked the row, said: “AJ wouldn’t have had to critique you in the first place if everything had been right.
“Dancing with Bailey last week showed how he danced with an amateur and their dance was amazing. This week was supposed to be different dancing with a pro…”
She then continued to talk about the alleged concussion, adding: “What people didn’t see in rehearsals was that you injured him when you hit him in the head, leaving him with a slight concussion and needing to see a physio.”
Shirley Ballas has also weighed in on the feud, opting to side with Rylee.
“@ryleearnold1 has earned her place on DWTS through hard work. Dedicating her time to all styles. I have a lot of respect for her. Shame others do not,” she wrote when a fan asked for her opinion on the feud.
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AJ, 31, lost out on becoming the next Dancing With The Stars pro earliet this week as he came runner-up to Adele Zaikman.
He has previously appeared on Strictly Come Dancing as well as Britain’s Got Talent.