Val Chmerkovskiy is standing by his hairstyle after facing criticism online.
The "Dancing with the Stars" pro, 40, addressed the reaction to his cornrows in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly following the show's Oct. 6 episode.
"There's nothing to talk about, [other than] the fact that I love the way it looked," he told the outlet.
Chmerkovskiy shared the hairstyle on social media, prompting criticism over cultural appropriation. He removed the braids before Tuesday's performance.
One user on X (@lexonfilm) wrote, "if i were the dwts hair and makeup team, i would be pulling those cornrows up out of val's head RIGHT. NOW."
Another user @ToNy_GoT_BaRz wrote, "Chile…Val on TikTok getting braids for Mariah Carey night. This man is a menace…"
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The three-time mirrorball trophy winner said the experience gave him an opportunity to learn about the hairstyle's significance and instead shared how he "got to support a local Black business," and praised them for doing "a fine job."
Chmerkovskiy also discussed the challenges of responding to online commentary.
"People are people. I get so much love, and so I don't block out the noise," he said. "Listen, I'm a human. Some of the audacity people have to write things, or now make videos of things, I can't even tell if you're a real person or [artificial intelligence]. We live in an environment where these networks have brought us all together, but they also empowered a lot of systems at play that participate in rage bait economy, and, you know, we're all evolving to find tools to deal with that type of noise."
He suggested his generation is still learning how to handle that scrutiny in a digital setting.
During the Oct. 6 episode, Chmerkovskiy and celebrity partner Jenna Dewan earned 24 out of 30 points for their rumba to Mariah Carey's "My All." Derek Hough stood to applaud, while Carrie Ann Inaba praised Dewan for incorporating the judges' feedback and showing vulnerability.
Val Chmerkovskiy returned to 'DWTS' tour after hospitalization
Earlier this year, Chmerkovskiy missed a performance on the show's live tour after being hospitalized in Peoria, Illinois.
In a March 3 health update, he said he had been diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV.
"So I got BPPV, which isn't too bad, thank God. There's no tumor in my brain, God forbid," the dancer said in a video posted to social media. "And thankfully, it's not related to my neck injury. And so having ruled those things out, I feel a lot better."
According to the Mayo Clinic, BPPV, is the leading cause of vertigo and can cause dizziness and difficulty maintaining balance.
Chmerkovskiy returned to the stage in Milwaukee on March 3 after missing the March 1 show in Peoria.
Contributing: Melina Khan, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'DWTS' pro Val Chmerkovskiy defends controversial hairstyle
