Pasha Pashkov has spent years as one of the steadiest pros in the "Dancing With the Stars" ballroom, but this season he's suddenly the name fans can't stop arguing about.
The Russian-born dancer, who joined the show in 2019 and finally hoisted the Mirrorball Trophy with Xochitl Gomez in 2023, found himself at the center of a social media storm after a recent routine left viewers split down the middle.
The trouble started with a jazz number that fans say leaned too heavily on tricks and not enough on actual dancing.
Within minutes of the performance airing, clips were circulating on X and TikTok, with commenters accusing the choreography of hiding his celebrity partner's footwork behind lifts, props, and camera cuts.
Others jumped to his defense, arguing that the routine was one of the most ambitious pieces the show has staged all season.
What made the backlash sting is how unusual it is.
Pasha has long been considered a dancer's dancer, a technician who lets the choreography speak for itself rather than chasing viral moments.
That reputation is exactly why the criticism landed so hard.
When a pro built on precision gets accused of smoke and mirrors, the internet smells blood in the water.
It didn't help that the judges' scores didn't match the mood online.
The panel praised the performance's entertainment value, and the couple survived the night comfortably, but the gap between what the ballroom saw and what the timeline saw became its own storyline.
By morning, "Pasha" was trending alongside words no longtime fan expected to see next to his name.
The drama also revived an older debate about how the show rewards spectacle over technique.
Every season, at least one pro gets tagged as the king or queen of gimmicks, and this year that label briefly landed on a man who has spent his entire tenure avoiding it.
Whether that's fair or just the price of doing something bold on live television depends on which corner of the fandom you ask.
Through it all, Pasha has stayed characteristically quiet, letting his partner and his next routine do the talking.
That silence has only fed speculation, since he's known for posting rehearsal clips and behind-the-scenes moments that usually soften even his harshest critics.
If he's bothered by the noise, he hasn't shown it, and that composure may be the most on-brand move of his season.
What happens next matters more than any single night.
A strong follow-up performance would quiet the skeptics and remind everyone why he's lasted this long on a show that chews through pros.
Another controversial routine, though, and the narrative hardens into something harder to shake.
Our take: Pasha is getting a raw deal here.
A pro who takes a swing on live TV deserves credit for the attempt, not a pile-on, and the internet's memory is famously short.
Final Thoughts
Give it two weeks, and the same fans dragging him will be calling the routine iconic.