DWTS pro Jenna Johnson’s 2012 Instagram post resurfaces, sparking backlash for anti-Asian slur
She never apologised
Dancing With the Stars pro dancer Jenna Johnson’s old Instagram post from 2012 has resurfaced, in which she uses a mock-Chinese phrase that’s widely regarded as a racist slur.
Jenna posted the photos on April 1, 2012, with the caption, “Ch*ng ch*ng wingadee wong, Beijing here we come!!” The post announced her upcoming competition at the World Latin Championships in Beijing, China, representing the United States. Her dance partner Landon Anderson is also seen in the pictures.
At the time, she was 18 years old and ranked in 28th place. The post has since been deleted, but people have shared screenshots of the post online for years.
A Reddit thread from 2020 posted the screenshot with the caption: “I found a deleted racist post that Jenna posted on Instagram back in 2012. I found it on Twitter. To this day, she has never addressed it or even apologised.”
i found a deleted racist post that jenna posted on instagram back in 2012. i found it on twitter. to this day, she has never addressed it or even apologized
by
u/teddivan96 in
dancingwiththestars
With the post now scrubbed from her account, one user claimed that Jenna “deleted them like two days ago when someone brought them out on Twitter without an apology of some sort, like it would all be forgotten.”
Viewers also aren’t happy about her lack of apology. “Yeah, if you get called out for this s**t, even if you’ve changed and it’s been 30 years, you have to apologise. That’s f*cked.”
According to Stop AAPI Hate Action, ch*ng ch*ng is a racist slur. “People used ch*ng ch*ng to mock Chinese people for their language and accent.”
what was that @JennaJohnson #dwts ? https://t.co/eN66EaY8ac
— Base (@outsoldnation) October 19, 2026
So the fact that Jenna still hasn’t apologised for using this anti-Asian language is concerning for viewers. “Ch*ing ch*ng is a statement used to mock Chinese languages and Chinese immigrants for multiple reasons, including a lack of fluency in English,” one user wrote. “The fact that she used it so freely means that this is normal for her speaks volumes of her character.”
While viewers have pointed out that she may not have known this was an offensive term, they say Jenna chose to quietly delete the post rather than release an apology.
Reality Shrine has reached out to Jenna Johnson for comment.