DWTS Season 11, Week 8 – More Media: The Controversy Continues
The controversy surrounding Maks and Carrie Anne’s fight continue. We’ve got a few more things to share on it again. First up, we have an Extra video of Tony interviewing Maks, Mark, and Derek and their partners on what happened. I don’t know. The more and more I hear from the pros on this, the more I side with them versus Carrie Anne.
Erin Andrews also spoke about what happened in a new interview on Movie Line. She also talked about the dances this week and her advise for future dances. Here is a take. Be sure to read the link for more from her.
Your boy Maks had a slight kerfluffle with Carrie Ann this week. How did you react? Did you hurl things at the TV? Scream, etc.?I think that when I first heard them [spar], I was like, “Oh gosh. Oh no.” But then when I thought about it what happened afterward when they went to commercial — he’s so sweet. He was just sticking up for Brandy. A lot of the time when the judges comment on the choreography, the way the dance was planned out, the pros take it upon themselves to say, “Just judge her for the dance. Don’t judge her for the choreography.” That’s all he was doing. He’s very, very protective over his stars. He wants them to feel comfortable. He made a comment to me one night before the show started about my wardrobe, and he said, “I just want you to walk down those stairs and feel the most glamorous and beautiful you’ve ever felt in your entire life.” He wants nothing but for his stars to feel the absolute best about themselves. You could see from the package that they showed with Brandy, he said, “Look, it’s just about us. It’s about nobody else. Do this for yourself.” That was just Papa Bear taking over and being really protective over his baby. I knew they’d make a big deal about it on all the gossip shows and in the tabloids and on the results show. I don’t know if you saw, but afterward, when Kurt was out, Maks went down and — he’s so sweet — he hugged Kurt right away. And then he went off — I watched him in the background — he hugged Carrie Ann. I think in the end Carrie Ann knows what he’s doing. He lets his emotions get the best of him, but that’s why he’s so wonderful.
Can you recall any times when the judges criticized you for things you couldn’t control, like the choreography?Oh, absolutely. Our samba that we did — I had this gorgeous purple feather outfit with a nude top and embroidery. Our story that we were telling — and this is why I love Maks, but — he thinks of these different stories. Our dance, the song was “When I Get You Alone.” He was like, “I want to pretend you’re coming home from a glamorous ball. And I’m this guy, and I’m all over you. And you’re like, ‘No, no, no, no. Let me have a second.’” It was so awesome. There was a part when I rip off his sleeves and then I rip open his shirt, and then he ripped off his shirt. Well, Len went to town that night and just said, “I’m tired of it, Maks. She’s a good dancer. I’m tired of you taking off your clothes.” And Maks was like, “You’re not listening! You’re not understand the theme of our song.” I got OK scores. I didn’t get the greatest scores on it. But he really felt like we were being penalized — I was being penalized — because Maks took his shirt off. The next week we did our foxtrot where we joked he would take his shirt off, but then we decided not to in the middle of the dance. Yeah, he got really frustrated with the judges. He said, “You’re penalizing Erin for something I created.”
Jennifer Grey racked up a perfect score this week. If any dance this week was worth 30 points, do you think it was hers?Well, her instant dance got the perfect score, right?
Yes.I thought her instant dance was hot. I mean, that’s what I wrote down in my notes. I wrote, “Wow. J. Hot.” I’m such a dork in that I thought one of the moves was like in Dirty Dancing when he put his hand down her arm and then he spun her out. And that extension that she held was so beautiful. I have goosebumps thinking about it. I wasn’t surprised that she got all 10s in that routine at all. Now I will say — in her first dance, I loved the dance, I loved the dress, I was excited when I saw her dance, but (sighs) again, with all the “My body’s falling apart” stuff. I read on somebody’s tweet, I forget whose it was, but they were like, “Is she lying to us about her injury?” She builds up this “I’m hurt, I’m hurt, I’m hurt,” and then she comes out, does the dance, and she’s insane. So I can understand her body falling apart, but I appreciated this week that there wasn’t a lot of crying. I appreciated that. She can’t help that her body’s falling apart; I like her playing it low-key, instead of being hysterical and everything like that. She went out there and I think she put herself on top of the leader board again. From her first dance to her instant dance, it was “Wow. Wow. Wow.” That’s the girl we saw at the beginning of the season and I think she put herself back on top.
She’s got to be really, really careful with her packages though in the next two weeks. You don’t want America to just get tired of the crying and the “My body’s falling apart.” It’s OK because at this point in the competition, everybody’s body is falling apart. Evan [Lysacek] had broken toes! He had a head injury. I had a broken foot which I didn’t know about. We just knew my foot was swollen every single day, and we didn’t know why. And I had a back injury. The day of the finale, we were doing run-through, we did my dance, and something popped in the middle of run-through. I started hysterically crying, and Maks was like, “What, what, what?” And I’m like, “It’s fine, let’s just go.” At this stage of the game, everybody is hurt. You can’t cry about it, and you have to soldier on.
It sounds like you’re saying that Jennifer is the front-runner, but maybe Kyle or Brandy can take that from her very soon.I’ll be very, very honest. I think Jennifer is absolutely the front-runner right now. She’s America’s sweetheart. I’d hate to sound corny, but she’s “Baby” to America. I think everybody loves the storyline that she’s 50 years old and she’s doing things with her body that are incredible. She looks wonderful. But I’ll be very candid in the fact at all these packages and America’s vote could really hurt her if she continues being very emotional. She can be injured and she can talk about that, but don’t use that as the only thing you’re talking about. She has a beautiful husband, a gorgeous daughter, friends who come to support her. Maybe use that. It was nice to see her dad in the package. But there is a guy named Kyle Massey who is so cute, so likable, and so fun. And he makes fun of himself — and I used to do that, people love it when you make fun of yourself — and he is becoming very charming to America. She needs to watch out for that. He may come out of the back, the back of the field there, and take over all the votes. Because people may start to get tired of it.
Mark discusses what happened with Maks and Carrie Anne in his new blog from USA Today. He also talks about Bristol and his dances this week and what’s to come next week.
Bristol did great this week and I was proud of her. She deserved higher than the judges gave her in the Argentine Tango, and Carrie Ann’s 7 in the Samba was wack. She definitely deserved higher.
I was irritated because I made a mistake in our Samba. What’s fun about making mistakes in front of 20 million households? Nothing. We got turned around in our routine so we ended up being on the wrong side of the floor. The room we practiced in was tiny compared to the ballroom, and we only had 20 minutes. Oh well. We did our best and that’s all we are focused on.
Everyone is tense backstage. How about that ongoing battle between Maks and Carrie Ann? Awk-ward! I don’t think Maks was out of line. In fact, I think it was awesome that he spoke up. As professional ballroom dancers, we’re all extremely competitive and take great pride in our work. When we get slammed, we take it personally. We have to, because dancing has been our entire lives and we put so much into it.
I was really excited to go to a concert not once, but twice this weekend. Florence and the Machine (NOT Florence Henderson!) was one of the best live shows I’ve ever been to. So awesome! I went twice: Sunday with Chelsie and Monday with Derek.
This week we have two dances again: the Paso Doble and Waltz. She’ll do really well in Paso because her demeanor, which is very straight-faced, matches the expression and motivation of the dance. And we just performed the Viennese Waltz a few weeks back, so I expect Bristol to really challenge for the finals.
Brandy has a new blog up to on Access Hollywood. She writes about what happened with Maks and Carrie Anne as well as their upcoming dances.
Each week, I make certain to listen to the judges as they point out what I’m doing right and wrong. After all, this is a competition and a part of this experience is to become the best dancer that I can be. So, I’m always paying close attention to them no matter how happy or disappointed I may be with the final scoring.
This week was different. This week’s scores seem to reflect more on our choice of choreography than the actual footwork and technique. While I was stunned at how the evening turned out, I really am more stunned at how big of a deal it turned out to be in the press.
I mean, I know that a little drama goes a long way and this was definitely ‘dramatic,’ but I wasn’t expecting the reaction from outside the studio and later that night — or even on Tuesday from the press. What was a minor disagreement between my partner and Carrie Ann turned out to be the ‘drama for the week’ for “DWTS.”
Anyways, Maks went over to Carrie Anne on Tuesday and they both walked away with everything being OK. I know that Maks is a very passionate person and since dance is his life, I understand how he felt.
By the same token, Carrie Ann is there to help us ‘Celebrities’ become better dancers and continue to learn the intricate moves. Her criticisms are meant to motivate us each week to give just a little more for the audience to see and enjoy. Seeing both perspectives and being behind the scenes, it really wasn’t everything that it was made out to be.
What you saw on both nights made for some great TV and that’s one of the reasons why the ratings for “DWTS” remain so high.
C’est la vie.
Now, it’s on to Wednesday and my next two dances are the Argentine tango and the paso doble. I admit that I am looking forward to both. I’m sure that Maks has some dazzling choreography and costumes in mind for us!
Next week will take us one-step closer to that coveted Mirror Ball trophy and the competition is stiff. I have a new appreciation for everyone who has come before me and for those who will come after.
Here’s a bit from TV Guide on some things we didn’t see that I thought was interesting.
What You Didn’t See
• Before the dreaded elimination show began, Kyle Massey and Tony Dovolani had the entire audience up and moving. Dovolani, showing off his ripped biceps in a muscle-tank, accompanied Massey on stage, where the two guided the audience on the dance floor to “Time Warp” and “YMCA.” The crowd cheered, waved their hands in the air and moved their feet according to the steps instructed by Massey and Dovolani.• Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Carrie Ann Inaba made up off camera after their dispute Monday night. “We actually spoke when credits rolled,” Chmerkovskiy told reporters backstage. “It was a very pleasant and polite conversation. I don’t have anything against Carrie Ann. She said what she said at the moment, and I responded like somebody who has put two and a half months into trying to make someone the best they can be.”
• Brandy let out a sigh of relief backstage after finding out she was safe on Tuesday’s elimination. “You know, I don’t want to say the word I really want to use, but I was you-know-what bricks,” the singer told PEOPLE, adding that because she’s now safe, she’s starting to think about where she wants to put her disco ball trophy if she wins the competition.
Ok, that is all we have for you for now. Don’t forget to watch “Larry King” tonight where he will interview all the remaining dance couples, Brooke, and Tom Bergeron (not sure if Bruno and Carrie Anne will be there too?). Here’s the cast coming and leaving his show last night to tie us over until show time tonight. It’s not much. But, sometimes scraps will have to do until the real thing. lol
