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Dancing With the Stars contestants Guillermo Rodriguez and Jackson Olson said they are friends after Olson apologized for a social media comment about Rodriguez’s dancing. Olson said they spoke privately and posted a video of the two dancing together.
Dancing With the Stars contestants Guillermo Rodriguez and Jackson Olson said they are friends after Olson apologized for a social media comment that viewers took as disrespectful toward Rodriguez. Rodriguez told TV Insider on Tuesday that they are enjoying the competition together, while Olson said they had talked privately and were “truly friends.”
“We’re friends,” Rodriguez, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! star, told TV Insider. “We’re competing against each other, but we’re friends. We’re having fun. He’s a good guy.” Olson, an infielder with the Savannah Bananas, also told the outlet that the two are friends.
Olson apologized in an Instagram post earlier Tuesday, addressing Rodriguez and people who had reacted to his comment. The post included a video of the pair dancing to “Nobody’s Perfect” by Hannah Montana. Olson wrote, “To G and to all of you, from the bottom of my heart I am so sorry about my comment I made the other day and that it caused this much negativity.” He added that he loved Rodriguez and urged viewers to focus on dancing.
The controversy followed a comment Olson left beneath a TikTok video posted last week by Banana Ball team Loco Beach Coconuts. The video showed player Erik Ostberg recreating a dance Rodriguez and professional partner Witney Carson had performed on the show. Olson’s since-deleted comment praised Ostberg’s version, asking how he had done it better than Rodriguez with two hours of rehearsal. Some viewers took the comparison as an insult to Rodriguez.
The Apology Reframes Their Competition
The public exchange addresses a dispute that had grown beyond a single social media comment. Some viewers criticized Olson on Rodriguez’s behalf, but both contestants have now said there is no ongoing hostility between them. Their comments give viewers a direct account of how they describe their relationship, rather than leaving the online reaction as the only indication of what happened between them.
The episode also highlights how a comparison between performances can be read differently by contestants and fans. Olson said he apologized for the comment and the negativity it caused; Rodriguez’s response described the pair as friends who are having fun while competing. Their statements do not require viewers to agree about the original remark, but they do clarify that the two men say they have made peace.
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How the TikTok Comment Spread
The disagreement began after Ostberg recreated Rodriguez and Carson’s dance in a video posted by the Loco Beach Coconuts. Olson’s comment praised Ostberg’s performance by comparing it with Rodriguez’s and referring to the amount of rehearsal time. The comment was later deleted, but fans had already objected to its wording.
Olson told TV Insider that he has long liked Rodriguez and that the two had become closer on the show. He said he went to Rodriguez’s trailer and they talked for about 30 minutes, agreeing to clear the air and show people that they were friends rather than acting maliciously toward each other. The apology and the video of them dancing followed that conversation.
“We’re friends. We’re competing against each other, but we’re friends. We’re having fun. He’s a good guy.”
— Guillermo Rodriguez, speaking to TV Insider
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What the Comment Was Meant to Convey
Olson apologized for the comment and the negativity it caused, but the available account does not establish whether he intended the comparison to offend Rodriguez. The reported wording praised Ostberg’s performance; fans interpreted the comparison as disrespectful. Olson’s account of his affection for Rodriguez and their private conversation offers his perspective, but the original comment’s intent cannot be determined from the exchange alone.
Neither contestant described every detail of their conversation or said whether the incident has affected their work on the show. Their public statements indicate they consider the matter settled, but no further details about any private discussion have been reported.
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The Competition Continues on DWTS
Rodriguez and Olson remain contestants on Dancing With the Stars, where they will continue competing while describing themselves as friends. Olson’s apology and the video of the two dancing have shifted the immediate focus from the online criticism back to the show.
No further response or action has been announced. The next public development is likely to come through the contestants’ continued appearances on the program or any new comments they make about the incident. For now, both men have said they have cleared the air.
Source: latimes.com
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Key Questions
Are Guillermo Rodriguez and Jackson Olson friends?
Yes. Rodriguez told TV Insider, “We’re friends,” and Olson also described them as “truly friends.”
Why did Jackson Olson apologize?
Olson apologized for a comment under a TikTok video that compared player Erik Ostberg’s recreation of a Rodriguez dance with Rodriguez’s performance. Some fans viewed Olson’s wording as disrespectful.
What did Olson say in the comment?
In a since-deleted comment, Olson asked how Ostberg had done the dance better than Rodriguez with two hours of rehearsal. The comment was made beneath a video posted by the Loco Beach Coconuts.
Did Rodriguez respond to the apology?
Rodriguez told TV Insider that he and Olson are friends, are having fun competing against each other, and that Olson is a good guy.
Did Olson and Rodriguez speak privately?
Olson said he went to Rodriguez’s trailer and the two talked for about 30 minutes to clear the air. He said they wanted to show people they were friends and not acting maliciously toward one another.
Source: latimes.com
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