Nancy Kerrigan Responds to Kristi Yamaguchi’s ‘Awesome’ Joke

Nancy Kerrigan has a sense of humor.

Last week, Twitter had a field day when Kristi Yamaguchi wished Kerrigan luck on Dancing with the Stars by using the expression “break a leg,” an awkward choice of words giving Kerrigan’s history.

But showing there were no hard feelings, Kerrigan posed for a photo with Yamaguchi — who won the Mirrorball Trophy on season 6 of DWTS — with the pair holding a sign that read, “Break a leg, Nancy.”

Over two decades ago, Kerrigan, 47, made headlines when she was attacked in January 1994 with a police baton at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit a month before the Winter Olympics.

Following a practice session, the figure skater was the victim of clubbing when Shane Stant took a police baton to her right knee in the hopes of breaking it and sidelining her from the Olympic games. He was hired by skating rival Tonya Harding‘s ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and Harding’s bodyguard at the time.

Speaking with PEOPLE after Monday evening’s Vegas Night on the reality dancing competition series, Kerrigan addressed Yamaguchi’s — who was cheering her on in the audience — good luck wishes.

“She called me last night and said she’d just landed and the girls made me a sign that said, ‘Break a leg, Nancy.’ It was awesome. We took a picture with it. It was funny. We’ve been friends since we were 15 and 13 years old. It’s been a long time,” said Kerrigan.

But does Kerrigan think she has what it takes to win the competition like Yamaguchi did? “That would be great. The longer I get to do this, the better. It’s fun and I love dancing with Artem. There are a lot more dances and I have a lot more to learn,” she explained.

Kerrigan also admitted that Yamaguchi encouraged her to participate in the series — and gave her a piece of advice.

“I did actually call her before because of my injury. I just wanted to know what she thought. I was like, ‘You’ve seen me lately!! I was in so much pain. But she said, ‘If you have this opportunity, you have to take it. It’s an amazing experience but just start doing ab work now,’ ” said Kerrigan.

In 2018, Kerrigan’s feud with Harding will play out on the big screen. The Harding-Kerrigan spat will be featured in the upcoming Harding biopic, I Tonya; Australian actress Margot Robbie has signed on to portray Harding in the film.

Kerrigan is competing on season 24 with pro partner Artem Chigvintsev.

Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays (8 p.m. ET) on ABC.