Julianne Hough has gained ample attention for her ill-advised Halloween costume, after she went to a pre-Halloween bash in Los Angeles dressed as Orange is the New Black character Crazy Eyes, complete with blackened skin. As criticism erupted, Hough quickly apologised for offending anyone and insisted that she meant no harm when she wore the blackface, stating that she is regretful and fully aware of the upset she may have caused.

Julianne Hough
Julianne Hough in her unfortunate get-up

With the controversy surrounding her showing no signs of abating, some of her cohorts on Dancing With the Stars have decided to lend their word to the argument, insisting that the professional dancer made a mistake, but it is one that should be forgiven and forgotten.

Her brother and fellow DWTS professional Derek Hough gave his opinion on the situation after Monday's (28 Oct.) edition of the show, telling E! News that his sister couldn't be more regretful of the whole situation. He said, "She's so apologetic. She's so, so sorry, and I just hope that we can all forgive her and move on."


Fellow show pro Val Chmerkovskiy also weighed in on the controversy surrounding her co-star, saying that the ill-advised move isn't a true reflection on Hough's character. Speaking to CNN, the dancer said, "I know Julianne personally and none of the critique that she is getting at all relates to her as a person, period. Whether it was a smart decision is a different conversation. But the intention, and going deep into the conversation of judging her character, of what she may or may not think behind the scenes - that is absurd."

He continued, "I know her as a person and she is kind and graceful ... and she has the right mentality. I just think it was a stupid mistake."

Current contestant Bill Engvall followed up the positive comments by stating that Julianne doesn't have "a mean bone in her body," adding that the costume idea was just an innocent mistake to make.

"Fortunately or unfortunately, in this day and age with 24-hour coverage and social media and all that, you got to be careful with what you do. And (Hough) would no more make any kind of racist statements than anybody on the earth," Engvall said. "And so I would say it was probably just an innocent mistake. ... Trust me, I've had things taken the way I didn't want things."

Derek Hough
Derek Hough choose a much less offensive Halloween outfit