Val Chmerkovskiy Writes About His Apartment Building Fire, Plugs Maks Again To Guest Judge On DWTS
Val Chmerkovskiy blogs about the fire at his apartment building Sunday night at Today. He writes that there was an electrical malfunction downstairs and something exploded. It combusted and the back end of the building caught on fire. There was smoke damage, but all of his ownings in the apartment are ok. More below on the fire and his dancing with Elizabeth Berkley this week. He also plugs his brother Maks again as a guest judge for Dancing With The Stars (he sure wants this to happen in the worse way, doesn’t he?).
Honestly, I don’t think that there’s anything in my apartment in terms of material stuff that I would have cared about if it had been lost. I’m actually already back in the apartment. They investigated what happened. They cleaned up all day so I could go back home after the show on Monday night. The fire didn’t really affect my performance. I wouldn’t let it. Dancing is my escape from everything else. It’s why I do what I do. I love dancing. It takes me to a different place. Nothing bothers my performance.
I loved incorporating the violin into our Argentine tango. I’m very proud of Elizabeth. She did a great job considering how much stress I put her under this week. I hope it was worth it to her.
My bigger goal when I’m on the show is making sure my relationship with my dance partner is a positive one. Last season, it wasn’t about my eyebrow (after I was accidentally hit there), it was about Zendaya’s performance. This year, it’s not about my apartment building catching on fire. It’s about Elizabeth’s performance.
I thought Julianne Hough did a great job as a guest judge. As I said in my last blog, I think my brother (Maks Chmerkovskiy) would be a great judge too. He’s a professional through and through. He’s an incredible person and is very passionate about his craft. He’d never let any sort of outside relationships or history get in the way of his integrity. He has no agendas against anyone here. My brother’s one of the nicest dudes you’re ever going to meet.
You can read the full blog in full at Today. Below is some E News coverage of the fire at Val’s apartment building as well….
Anyone else think it’s interesting he hardly talks about Elizabeth and their partnership in his blogs? Maybe I’m reading too much into it. I don’t know…just wanted to make that comment.
Glad he is back at his apartment already and everything seemed to be okay in the long run.
He somehow manages to say everything in such a way to make me roll my eyes – compliment Julianne, but immediately follow it with comments that make you forget he complimented her at all and actually wonder if he’s dissing her. How can anyone be so un-self aware?
Wow can he be any more obvious that hes trying to say he still think jules was being unfair with scoring derek or something. Saying my brother would not let any relationship get in the way. Wow, i think it would be a disaster for him to be a judge and would give val a 10 lol thats just what I think. But glad he wasnt hurt in that fire.
I used to sometimes think that he was the NICE Chmer-brother….
NOPE! Not anymore!
He’s highly intelligent, and wily, and….
Years ago, he would remind me of one of those snake oil sellers. He lures people in with the nice sayings and compliments, and then WHOMP!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did he say that?…
“He’s an incredible person and is very passionate about his craft. He’d never let any sort of outside relationships or history get in the way of his integrity. He has no agendas against anyone here.”
He’s freaking unbelievable. Val is as much of a putz as Maks. I hope the fans send him packing.
“He’d never let any sort of outside relationships or history get in the way of his integrity. He has no agendas against anyone here.”
Now what percent of the cast would this apply to… one can’t say Val does not have a sense of humor or maybe he is just tactless.
Please – no Max judging!
Gotta agree, no Maks judging! Ugh!
More likely he is referring to Mark, Dwts1. Funny thing is, I would bet it’s not true – I have a hard time believing that Maks would be impartial to the “family”.
Highly intelligent?? I don’t think so. I think he THINKS he is, but I beg to differ. 🙂
I don’t think Maks has been away from the show long enough to NOT be biased. So NO MAKS behind the judges table! lol
P.S. But, I’m glad Val wasn’t hurt in the fire!
PH, how about more intelligent than his brother? Maks just opens and speaks…. Val tries to be clever and pad with with a “compliment” first to try to make it seem not as bad as how he means, which just makes it that much meaner.
Bar = Low
Definitely felt like this was a dig at her comment to Mark.
YES what PH said #2—that sort of nails it. Ad he does it ALL THE TIME. Its like someone who looks you in the eye, and you should take each point they make and reverse it to mean just the opposite.
No judging from Maks >(comment #11).
Glad that Val or no-one was hurt in that fire !
I didn’t take what Val said as a dig towards Julianne at all. I thought he was actually throwing her a compliment and then using the topic to plug his brother as a judge, again!
I don’t fault Val for plugging his sibling, which is now coming across as begging to me, but to try and sell all of Maks’ good, personal qualities like he’s a contestant in a pageant is a little much for me. If TPTB want him to guest judge, he will, if not, move along.
I’m a Val fan but I still think you should be a pro who has actually won on the show in order to critique your former colleagues. And I think Val saying Maks wouldn’t let any history, outside relationships or agendas was pointed at Peta via Maks (since Karina and Maks made nice nice this summer).
It doesn’t matter if Maks won’t let his old relationship affect his judging (how big of him), he’s not the one who was hurt by the break-up, she was. But of course Maks can’t seem to not think of himself first in this situation. No thank you on guest judging from Maks. Sorry Val.
Ashley, you could be right – but what’s at issue is how Val expresses himself. He can’t seem to phrase things in a way as to not make groups of people think he’s saying something he might not be. He does it a couple times every season. I think he needs some lessons in communication.
Val is what I like to call a “jellyfish” – everything he says seems innocuous on the surface, but there’s an underlying sting to it. It’s as if he is physically incapable of praising his peers on the show (minus members of “the family”, of course) without throwing in some sort of subtle jab at the same time – it’s the “compliment with a stipulation”.
Why all the “begging” for Maks to be a judge. Didn’t Maks say he was through with DWTS, moving on to bigger and better things, and would not miss it at all?
PJ, it’s probably a tit-for-tat thing. Derek got to have his sister on as a judge, so of course Val wants his brother to get his due. I think the Chmerkovskiy clan (which includes Tony) have a massive one-sided competition going with the Houghs. I’m sure they feel the Houghs have received all kinds of special treatment from TPTB.
While I think Val is pushing too hard for Maks to be a judge, I really disagree with the idea of him not being impartial. Like it or not, the guy has been brought up in the ballroom dance world and wouldn’t judge any less fair than Julianne did.
Something makes me think you’re saying that just because of the reports of him not being the best of friends with a certain Hough, PH. (rolls eyes)
Part of me thinks you’re just trying to pick a fight, Jen. *emphatic eye roll* Have you been living under a rock the past, oh, I don’t know, 4 years? Maks has never hesitated to take swipes at Derek on Twitter, on GMA, in interviews, etc. And, “like it or not”, while you may like to use the ballroom excuse for Maks being “impartial”, this show ain’t the real ballroom world, honey. It’s ten times more political and I don’t trust Maks as far as I can throw him to not pick Derek’s partners apart while heaping praise upon his brother and right-hand man.
By the way, you’re on notice – you’ve been warned before about taking swipes at mods and I doubt you conveniently forgot about it before you typed out your snippy little respose to Heidi.
+1 Court.
Ph and court – Absolutely!
He does have a history of the backhand compliment or just being rude, period. Then there’s times when I think he didn’t mean harm but didn’t phrase properly which I agree is his issue to work out. It’s not up to the public to to try and figure out what he meant. I just do because I like him. 🙂
Here’s why I think it might not have been a back door insult, Julianne had only very nice things to say about Elizabeth and Val, even gave Val extra props for choreo/story, and I never got the impression Val feels a need to defend Mark. I almost read a “she did great AND my brother would do great also” not “she did OK BUT my brother would never do that bad thing she did”
I agree with Ashley L, he has never won DWTS why would the show want a guest judge who is not successful. His critique- you need to walk around more too much dancing. I got so tired of Maks when he had good dancers doing nothing. I feel sorry for Val, please stop the begging. Maks has disparaged the show that made him a household name. The Hough’s have never done that. I am not a huge Hough fan, but I have to give credit where it is due. The C brothers and I include Tony in that seem to be jealous of the Hough family. They should try working harder and whining less. I know this is off topic but I thought the way Tony dressed Wynonna last season was awful, she looked like a tranny. Sorry mods, feel free to edit me!
I agree Val could have phrased things differently, and I’m not sure that Maks would be as impartial as Val is claiming he would be. However, I didn’t feel he was taking a dig at Julianne through his comments when I read it – though I can see the possibility for that now that it’s been pointed out. My guess is he didn’t intend it to be a dig – but he really *does* need to learn how to say things without the possible double or triple meanings.
Actually, as…I mean Jen…Derek and Maks are rather good friends and have been known to hang out together. Which makes Maks childish asshole behavior towards Derek’s partners at times even harder to take. And rather telling about his character. Or lack thereof.
Frankly, I would MUCH rather Derek not be friends with people who treat him like shit, but he’s a better person than I am.
Again, whether or not it was a back handed insult or not is not really the point, as should have been clear from my original comment and subsequent comments. The problem is in how he expresses himself. It makes it sound worse (sometimes much worse) than what he might mean. Maybe he meant insult, maybe he didn’t – but if he *didn’t* he needs to do a better job in communicating what he wants communicated. How many times every season do we discuss what Val meant or didn’t mean?? That’s a sign of a PROBLEM. His problem – unless he doesn’t care if people take everything he says the wrong way.
IMO Maks wouldn’t be a very good DWTS judge because he has the same foot in mouth ailment that his little brother suffers from. I’m not sure he could offer any kind of useful critique that won’t be “misunderstood” and he is prone to those hidden jabs (I love that “jellyfish” comparison, Court). And I’m not so sure he could be all that unbiased since both Chmer-brothers have shown partiality in the past, and both, I believe, feel slighted in some way = us against the them mentality. Get over it, the world is not fair. I liked Maks, for the most part, and enjoyed many of his seasons. But his petulant “I’m done with DWTS” rant really turned me off. If you’re really done, off to bigger and better – and I do wish you well, please tell your brother to shut up.
The questions here is why am I holding Maks to a higher standard than the current panel displays 😉
I’m not sure that you have to have won DWTS in order to be a good judge. I think you can be an effective judge without ever having danced on the show. But i’m not a fan, in general, of past players (pros or celebs) being on the judging panel – unless they’ve been away from the show for some time, like Kym is doing at the Aussie DWTS. I don’t mind the occasional guest judge gig, but i think there needs to be a “barrier” between dancers and judges, to allow the judges to give unbiased, clear and fair critique – even when the dance is not all that good. Wish the current panel could be more impartial with clear and fair critiques (comparing a dancer to a shopping cart does little for the dancer except make her feel bad, not much to work on other than to look less like a shopping cart). And while I’m all for a shake up in the judging panel, not sure that recent Pros are a good fit.
As far as Jules’ comment about Mark, that may well have been her attempt to “prove” she is not playing favorites. I’m sure she felt some pressure in that regard. Even though the comment was valid, IMO
As I stated on the questionnaire, I think Maks being a guest judge would make for some potentially fascinating TV, so I’m all for it from a train-wreck perspective. It’d be compelling if he behaved oh-so-Maks-like, with all his biases and back-handed compliments, OR it’d be nice for Maks to have the opportunity to prove his fairness and give solid critiques throughout. I’d bet on the former rather than the latter, but it’d be interesting either way.
From reading Val’s blogs I have come to the conclusion that while he’s a fantastic dancer, he is a terrible writer. But, I shouldn’t be too critical. He can speak and write in two languages , and I’m barely able to speak and write in one.
I agree he should stop the campaigning for Maks to judge. If TPTB want him, and he’s agreeable it will happen. Otherwise, shut up, Val. I think Maks would do a fantastic job as a judge. Just like Julianne did. I loved her critique, and her advice. Not sure what I think of everyone giving the exact same scores, but it was evidently agreed on before the show. Just glad it was Julianne commenting on Mark’s dancing habits. If Maks had said that , the villagers would be marching with their torches and pitchforks. 🙂
I personally think Maks would be tougher on Val than anyone. After all, Val is his former student. I read somewhere at some point that Maks had certification as a ballroom judge, so he certainly is qualified to judge if that is true. And it for sure would be entertaining. PDWTS would probably crash with all the comments. 🙂 JMHO
auntie, I think it is actually 3 languages – Russian and Ukrainian, Ukrainian is a different language, and from what I heard and saw – they both read/write in Ukrainian.
Isn’t that akin to saying I speak Irish and Gaelic? Like, some difference but not all that much??
Good for them, but I’ve never bought the “English isn’t his native tongue” argument since Val and Maks both have lived in the US for 20 years or more. Being in the public eye, it would behoove them to take some classes.
And if Maks had said that about Mark? It would still be true, for most of us. Although Maks has the same speaking issues as Val so I doubt it would have come out as well. Mark would likely be LESS offended, however, since, to my knowledge, he’s never danced with Maks. 😀
#34, I doubt it. They came from Odessa, Ukraine where 98% of population used to speak, read and write just in Russian.
I really like Maks but I would never want him to be a judge. I believe he would be very bias and unfair.
As for Val, he’s a very talented dancer but I cannot stand him as a person. The final straw for me was when he flipped the bird to the trophy. Totally crude and disrespectful to both the show and ABC. And I’ll never forget his reaction when Derek won last season. So any of his backhand compliments come as no surprise.
I would prefer if Maks didn’t judge on DWTS, for the contestants sake. Maks has no verbal filter and has made some disparaging remarks about the show, other pros and the judges.
All of these things might make for an interesting show but would only serve to take focus away from the contestants, which is what the show is supposed to be about right?
The contestants have enough stuff to deal with, don’t add a potentially biased and loose cannon former pro to the mix as well.
I don’t think Maksim should judge the competition really.
I didn’t particularly want Julianne to be a judge, either. I just didn’t think a former pro with a family member still competing was a good idea. But, she surprised me. I thought she did a fantastic job. I have no feelings about her as a pro either way. By the time I started watching DWTS she was ready to move on. I think the first year I watched, she danced with somebody named Chuck, and they were eliminated before the finals.
If, as somebody has stated, the suits at DWTS sometimes read these entries,they see how their ideas are received. If they think having Maks as a judge will bring in viewers,for whatever reason, they’ll do it. Our wishes as viewers seem to have little impact on their decisions. They (the suits) do love controversy and drama. JMO. Who knows? Maks may surprise a lot of people, by being a very good judge. I’d also like to see Louis give it a try.