DWTS Hope Solo Addresses Drama With Maks, Turning Down The Intensity, And More!!
Hope was Ryan Seacrest’s guest on his radio show this morning. They talked of the drama with Maks. Hope wants everyone to know that she did not let Maks actions last week go unnoticed. She has addressed the incident with him and he knows that he was in the wrong. From Hope at the link:
“I almost quit the show right then and there. I almost walked out, but I told myself I am in this for the long haul, through all the bumps and bruises, through all the challenges. Maks knew exactly where I stood with it and he knows that it could never happen again,” Hope tells us. “I did everything I could for our fans to not let it get the best of me. I did whatever I needed to do to control myself and to handle it outside of the camera’s.”
You can listen to the full interview below. Special thanks to Lori for the heads up on this interview!! I have to say, I’m glad Hope did this interview today. I always respect honesty and I hope, if nothing else, much was learned from it. The question is: will fans and voters forget and be forgiving tonight? Hmmm…
I am a fan of Maks’s and I have been giving most of my votes this season to Hope and Maks. But there is no excuse whatsoever for handling your partner roughly. None! I’m very glad that Hope is speaking out about this. Maks should never have let his frustration get to the point where he is manhandling his partner like that. That is a bad sign. And if it continues, Maks will never get another vote from me. In fact, I’m seriously considering not voting for him now after hearing Hope’s interview, although I do like Hope.
DWTS is supposed to be fun for the contestants and the pros both, in spite of the hard work and the pressure. But pushing and shoving your partner is unacceptable, no matter how much the pressure is getting to you. I haven’t seen all of the seasons, so can anyone tell me: Has there ever been any other incident where the pro pushed his or her partner around? I haven’t seen it in any of the seasons that I’ve watched before this one. Thanks.
NYC Girl, you’ve just spoken for how I feel on it. I have always been a huge fan of Maks and his dancing. I still have respect for his dancing (and I very much liked his and Hope’s dances last week)….but, not sure on his teaching techniques and temper anymore if he’s getting physical with his partners with it. 🙁
I know one thing…I definitely want a change next season. I think Maks needs a break. I think he’s seriously burned out. I hope Val, Sasha, and Teddy are picked as Pros next season along with Derek and Tristan.
Voguerista, thanks for your reply. I don’t like that method of “teaching” either. And I hate to say it, but we saw a bit of that same so-called “tough love” approach with Val and Elisabetta earlier this season, and I didn’t like that either. I much prefer Tristan’s approach. When Nancy was getting frustrated in the first weeks and they started fighting with each other, Tristan cooled it down and said that he’s learning that “there’s more than one way to teach” someone. I think the pros would all benefit from thinking about that idea and their approach to teaching students with differing abilities and temperaments.
Thank you Hope for talking about it. If only Maks’ fans stop making excuses for his behavior and stop voting for him. That would send him a message.
It’s pretty unbelievable that it actually happened… I’ve read and listened to quite a few excuses since last week… Not just from fans of Maks, but fans of Hope.
Yes, it happened. Yes, she is a strong woman, but it still happened, and it almost got her down…. Hearing her say that she almost quit right then and there really got to me…
I’m glad she was open and honest, and found the strength to stay in, and to deal with it quietly with Maks….
Still….. Wow.
Sorry, I feel a bit conflicted, and unsure about what and how to say what’s rattling around my head….
#5 Lori, ITA — It’s unbelievable that it actually happened the way it looked on screen. As a fan of Maks’s, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because I do know that film can be edited to make a situation look better or worse than it actually was. So, I was hoping that this was just a case of selective editing on the part of the producers to heighten the drama — and we DO know that they have done that in the past. But no — I heard Hope’s radio interview this morning before I saw this post, and I just had to come on here and say that there are NO excuses if what we saw in that rehearsal was what actually happened: Maks pushed Hope around and she almost quit over it. Unacceptable.
I’m glad she had the sense to address it with him…I had lost respect for both of them. Her tweets were misleading as she just kept saying that things were fine and that she’s glad her has her back. If she would have tweeted her fans that “Maks and I discussed the incident away from the cameras and it’s all good”….then I would understand. However, ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE for Maks to have acted that way in the first place, and yes, I don’t like Val’s approach either.
I am also glad it was addressed as there are girls watching the show that look up to Hope as a soccer idol and might have seen that and gone away from it thinking it was okay to be treated like that. I wish they had shown more of what happened afterwards on the show, just for that reason.
I’m right there with you, Lori – some of the excuses I’ve heard Maks fans trying to use to justify his behavior are downright horrifying to me. “Hope plays soccer, so she’s used to being handled roughly!”, “Oh, it wasn’t so bad – Maks just bumped her lightly!”, “The producers are just giving Maks bad edits because they’re mad at him!”, “Hope wasn’t bothered by it, so it’s not a big deal!” It really & truly makes me kinda nauseous that they would try to justify getting physical with one’s partner – and I have to wonder if these fans would still be so forgiving if it was another pro whose actions were under scrutiny. Would they still be so forgiving if it was Derek, Tony, Mark or Tristan who had allegedly gotten rough with their partners? I highly doubt it.
I’m glad Hope spoke up and was honest about her feelings – it’s good to know she isn’t a shrinking violet that is too afraid to be vocal when something is upsetting to her. I hope this is also a wake-up call to Maks to really do some soul-searching and possibly get some counseling for what looks to me to be an anger management problem in the making. 🙁
I’m sure it’s almost impossible to know what to do in real time, I’m sure she handled it the very best she could and I applaud her. I’m glad she spoke about it now and was clear that it wasn’t OK to be treated that way. I hope she can find a way to say that message to a wider audience of young girls who look up to her because I do believe that men, especially very handsome and charming men can get a pass at bad behavior and that many young women (even very smart, strong, independent) women can find themselves in situations/relationships that have escalating controlling and aggressive behavior. Not saying at all that Maks would be on who would escalate (not saying he wouldn’t be though either) but just that young women would benefit from Hope taking a stand about men bullying women. (And I’d feel the same in the reverse gender situation.)
#9 Courtney — I don’t know about any other of Maks’s fans, so I am only speaking for myself here: As a longtime fan of Maks’s, yes, I will ALWAYS give him or ANY OTHER PRO the benefit of the doubt that the producers are in fact editing the footage to show a particular situation as better or worse than it is. I know that Louis has often said that the way the rehearsal looks in the “package” is not necessarily the way it went in reality because of the selective editing. I did in fact give Maks the benefit of the possibility of bad editing, and I would do that with anyone else as well. Now that I know that it’s not the case, I have a different viewpoint on the whole incident. But I personally have never made any other excuses besides the possibility of selective editing, which I now know didn’t happen. That’s just my take on it, and I can’t speak to what other fans may have said that minimized the incident. After Hope’s confirmation of what happened, if they are still making excuses, then they are wrong.
I have been a big Maks fan. I’m sad.
I also agree that I think Val could easily cross a line too in the name of “this is how I teach” and “I have a clear consious” and “I did it my way” and “my mom supports me”…I didn’t like watching how he treated Elizabetta.
He might look nice, be a fantastic dancer, be charming in many ways, and also be a good person in many ways but I don’t want to watch them being mean to vulnerable people anymore. And their stars are vulnerable to them. They are operating outside their comfort zone and entrusting themselves to their pros. JMO
Maks was in the wrong and Hope called him out on it, and I’m happy she did, not only because it was in her best interest but also because she is a role model and her inactions/actions can influence others. And according to Hope, he accepted responsibility for his mistake. It was pointed out that Tristan has learned there is more than one way to teach and hopefully Maks has learned that he needs to change his ways and examine his behaviors and styes more closely, and learn how to deal with his frustrations more effectively and kindly. Let’s hope we see a difference. Watching Maks self-destruct in the past few weeks has been frustrating because it is not helpful for him or those around him. I think it would be most gracious for us to give him a chance to show that he has learned from his mistakes. People can and do learn from their mistakes. I believe Hope would have quit if she thought there was potential for greater harm and if he hadn’t accepted responsibility. Not voting for her because of Maks penalizes Hope though, which isn’t fair.
If only Hope could dance. 🙁
I think Maks’ Achilles heel this season is that he thought that if he could just hand pick a partner, he would have a better chance to win a mirror ball. When Hope didn’t turn out to be the natural dancer he imagined, it seems like he started to take out his frustration and dissapointment out on her. Maks has never been among the best choreographers, he’s middle of the pack at best. And he seems to be the worst coach. He seems to think he has a right to win, like he’s earned it somehow and it’s his turn if he can just get Derek or some of the other more talented pros out of the way. And he’s wrong. He’s right where he deserves to be, getting exposed for the unprofessional, bad-attitude, self-serving guy he is.
I totally agree with what you said #15 Colleen. That is the exact attitude I feel like I see from watching him every season on the show and in the media interviews. I will go to say I could be wrong since I don’t know Maks, but everything you said about what he does and why he does it is exactly how he comes across to me.
Thanks, EPmusic.
I remember some of Maks comments about Hope early on was that she needs to trust her partner and give in to the feelings of the dance. My question is how the heck can she regain trust in him after he publicly humiliated/verbally abused her/man-handled/abused her? He has always walked that fine line between “bad boy” and bully and I think he crossed that line and this fan of his is angry. Maybe his paying students have to take that kind of abusive teaching style but this is an entertainment show and these celebs are getting an expedited lesson in these dances. I think you have to adopt a different teaching style and he is not getting that point. I really hope he takes something away from this embarrassing situation and uses it as a personal growth experience. I think Hope’s hands are clean in all this. She really stayed professional through all of it. My vote will be for her and not Maks. I hope like everyone else that he takes next season off.
Natalie, I agree with everything you said. I think Hope will end up going home this week if for no other reason than Maks has alienated a lot of his own fans this season. Also, I do believe Hope could have been a lot better performer with a different partner. I don’t think anybody responds well to that kind of behavior, disrespect and unkind words.
Just want to chime in with the above sentiments…great that Hope spoke up on this, and hope that Maks takes some time off and can learn something from this.
I wouldn’t want to condemn him completely–I think a lot of these dancers have grown up with “tough love” teachers and then perpetuate those methods. But maybe he can now re-evaluate those methods and in addition, as others have said, deal with anger management.
What the??? I must have fast forwarded through this part. When did he shove her? Was it during rehearsal for their dance together or the group dance?