DWTS Season 33 Pro Defends Partner After Fans Misinterpret Joke

Heavy/Disney "Dancing With the Stars" pro dancers.

Pro dancer Daniella Karagach is defending her “Dancing With the Stars” season 33 partner Dwight Howard.

Hours after she shared a cheeky Snapchat about his tardiness, the dancer was on the defense as fans accused the NBA star of not taking the celebrity dancing competition seriously. “People think we’re mad at each other because of me,” Karagach said to Howard in an Instagram story posted on October 20.

“Stop! We’re not mad at each other,” Howard replied.

“People think because you came late yesterday that you’re always late,” she added, to which Howard insisted, “Never!”

Karagach went on to assure fans that her 6’10” partner is always on time for their rehearsal sessions. “Actually, he’s always early, by the way,” Karagach said of Howard. “And he’s making me better because I’m usually late to everything, you can ask [my husband] Pasha [Pashkov]. But I haven’t been late since Day 2. Because two days I came late!”

“We don’t play that late stuff,” Howard told fans. “So don’t play with us. And you better vote for us!”

Fans Went Off on Daniella’s Video About Dwight’s Late Arrival

The confusion came when Karagach posted a cheeky video to Snapchat to call out Howard for making her wait an hour for him to show up at their rehearsal. “My partner was an hour late to rehearsals today,” she told fans on October 19.

Howard denied being late, replying, “She’s not telling the truth. No. I was not late!”

“Are you going to stand here and lie to my Snapchat?”  Karagach then asked.

Fans reacted on Reddit to accuse Howard of not taking the competition seriously.

“Dwight. Dani is a busy mom. …She could have been with her child and not waiting on your lazy butt to show up,” one Reddit user wrote.

“Showing up an hour late to rehearsals is so disrespectful to Dani,” another agreed. “Dwight seems to be another contestant who is just not taking this competition seriously.”

Daniella Karagach Said Dwight Howard is One of Her Favorite Partners Ever

After her post about Howard being late, Karagach posted a follow-up video that was screenshot by a Reddit user. The dancer explained that fans alerted her to the fact that people think she and Howard hate each other.

She said people behind “keyboards” have said Howard is “lazy,” “doesn’t work hard,” and have jumped to unfair conclusions about their partnership

“Where do people get this stuff?” she asked. “He’s literally one of my favorite partners ever.”

“I guess no one got my joke,” Karagach added. “Dwight is never late. He’s truly never late. And he was late one time and it was really funny because people just went…it was crazy.”

She thanked fans for looking out for her but added, “Dwight and I love working together. I promise you.”

Some fans felt Karagach was worried about voter backlash.

“This really sounds like damage control, and notoriously close to gaslighting. It’s not a big deal, but Dwight has a notorious reputation for being late and not taking things seriously,” one Reddit user wrote.

“I never believed they hated each other but I do think she was annoyed which is perfectly natural given how late he was. I don’t blame fans for thinking Dani was over it given his history,” another added.

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