DWTS Season 11, Week 8 – Interviews, News Tidbits, and More!

Ok, as you know, the hot topic this week is Maks and Carrie Anne and their fight on Monday night during the show. Here is a take from a new interview with Maks from E Online. He apologizes and knows he went too far. He also speaks about the conspiracy theories on why Bristol is still in the competition. Here is a take from it.

You guys came out on top of the leader board last night. How do you feel about how the night went?I feel great about everything. Actually, I wanted to apologize, I guess, to all the fans. There was a bit of lost temper on my part and it’s not something I always resort to. I’m not like that. I just felt so proud of Brandy’s performance. I think she’s doing phenomenal, and she’s really trying so hard and I felt like she was maybe a bit overlooked and that caused me to speak out. I’m just sorry because the fans. …They don’t want to see all that drama, they want to see us composed and professional, and I lost my temper a little bit.

What do you think about the Bristol Palin conspiracy rumors?I’m sure people are talking about Bristol still being in the competition—like it’s some kind of conspiracy. I’m happy for Bristol. She’s doing something she’s probably never going to do again. And as far as conspiracy, that’s why the show is what it is. People are entitled to vote for who they want to and I applaud that.

Do you think that her mom Sarah Palin is helping Bristol?I don’t know if her mom being Sarah Palin helps her in popularity. I’m pretty sure it adds to it. Again, I don’t look at Sarah Palin in the packages as a political figure. I look at Sarah Palin in the packages as a mom, a proud mother and somebody who is happy to see their child do something like this. I just look at Sarah as a loving mother in that sense.

TV Guide is reporting that Maks gave Carrie Anne a hug backstage after Monday night’s show. They stayed that way for a long time and whispered to each other. Here is a take from that article.

It seemed to restore peace in the Dancing neighborhood, at least for now. Says Chmerkovskiy, explaining his unusually heated reaction to Inaba’s comments, “We’re not robots that they let out of the closet for three months twice a year to do the show. We put in a lot of hard work and dedication. Carrie Ann’s been at our throats for the last couple of weeks and I was just kind of sick of it.”

“I was never bothered by what Maks said,” says Inaba, standing outside her trailer moments later. “But am I tired of the ranting? Yes, I’m tired of the ranting. I think everybody is.”

But pro Tony Dovolani, who considers Maks his best friend, says he understands completely why it happened. “It’s very difficult at this point in the competition because all the professionals have put so much into it, so much emotion, so much hard work. For the public to think it’s always going to be nicey, nicey, that just isn’t real.”

Dovolani says that frustration comes with the territory. “It’s hard keeping your celebrity positive, because they do a pretty good job defeating themselves. So you want the judges to give you some encouragement. And when they don’t, that’s a little hard to take.”

“Maks took it personally, and he shouldn’t,” says judge Bruno Tonioli, who himself was under fire earlier this season for making barbed comments about Michael Bolton, who also took it personally and demanded an apology — which he never got. “We are there to say what we think,” says Tonioli. “If we stop being truthful, we’d be useless.”

Speaking of Maks, People has rated him #22 (out of 25) in their “Sexiest Man Alive 2010: 25 Sexy Chests to Be Thankful For“. I don’t know about you. But, I agree with that assessment. 😀 (Heidi: Derek was in the 16 Sexy Chests to be Thankful For, for the 2009 People. 🙂 )

In other news tidbits, Playbill reports that Mark will be joining the cast of “Burn The Floor” on Nov. 30.

Mark Ballas — of TV’s “Dancing with the Stars” fame — will join the touring company of the dance extravaganza Burn the Floor for a limited engagement beginning Nov. 30 in Raleigh, NC.

Tom Bergeron is going to be a guest on The Larry King Show tonight. He’s also filming something for the Jimmy Kimmel show. Here is what he tweeted. (Heidi: I believe the remaining cast will be on Larry King – filming tonight airing Thursday)

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Also, for you big Enrique Iglesias fans like myself, good news. Enrique is going to perform on “The Results Show” next week. Peta Murgatroyd (who John and I love! And wasn’t she great during the first pro number lastnight?) posted this news on her Twitter last night. Most likely, he will perform one or two songs from his new album “Euphoria”.

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Popwatch has a new interview up with Derek. He checked in with them right before the shows this week. Here is a snippet from it.

How stressed out is everyone RIGHT THIS SECOND???
Everyone is fairly stressed out. But to be honest with most of the cast you’d never be able to tell. Everyone is always so composed.

I loved when you told Jennifer last week, “It’s fine. It’s just a dance show” to put things in perspective. Do you ever have to stop and remind yourself of that, too, or do you have a pretty steady sense of perspective having done this for many seasons?
Every season is something new and intense for me. It’s always a change as no two partners of mine have been alike. But at the end of the day, it’s a dance show and you win a mirror ball trophy. It can be competitive, but it always has to stay fun.

How did you decide on how to reinterpret both the dance and the costumes of Drew and Cheryl’s tango from season 2? I liked the red velvet cake color update.
We watched Cheryl and Drew’s dance, which was so good, and adapted it to what suited us and our styles and what Jennifer is capable of. I think we pulled it off rather nicely.

What do you think of the same-sex couple in the upcoming Israeli season of DWTS? Can you see that ever happening on the U.S. version?I don’t know if that would happen on the U.S. version. If I’ve learned one thing on this show though, it’s to never say never.

Isn’t it about time for an adorable rehearsal footage segment featuring Jennifer’s daughter Stella helping you train?
Stella is in the audience every week supporting her mom. She’s the best cheerleader in the world.

Special thanks to PureDWTS fan Jennifer for this video coverage of Tony, Kym, and Chelsie dancing at the 2010 Disneyland Christmas Day Parade taping.

Ok, that’s it for your news and media for today. Well, I think? 😮