Pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy and judge Len Goodman clashed in an uncomfortable moment on Dancing with the Stars’ Broadway-themed night Monday, causing judge Carrie Ann Inaba to chide Chmerkovskiy, “Don’t be disrespectful like that!”
After Chmerkovskiy and his celebrity partner Hope Solo danced the rumba to a song from the musical Rent, Goodman told the soccer stunner, “This is your worst dance of the whole season, in my opinion,” to which the crowd booed heavily (encouraged by Chmerkovskiy).
Goodman explained to Chmerkovskiy why the audience liked a dance the judges didn’t, referring to five decades of experience in the craft.
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“I’ve been in this business for nearly 50 years,” Goodman, 67, told Chmerkovskiy, 31, who chirped back, “Maybe it’s time to get out!”
“Don’t be disrespectful like that!” Inaba scolded.
Chmerkovskiy backtracked a bit, saying he didn’t want to come off as disrespectful, but he and the other participants were tired of throwing their hearts into the show only to get stung by the judges’ “judgmental comments.”
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“Our job is to judge!” Inaba said, before Bruno Tonioli diffused the tense situation by giving his own evaluation.
After the duo received 20 out of 30 points — the night’s second-lowest score — Chmerkovskiy tried to clarify his position further in the post-scoring interview.
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“With all due respect, this is my show: I help make it what it is,” Chmerkovskiy said. “I love every professional that’s ever been here and I love every celebrity that puts effort into every week.
“Having said that, I’m a little tired that we’re being judged some on effort and some on being picked on for heel leads — that’s all I’m saying.”
Watch the video on RadarOnline.com
Broadway night’s other scores were: J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff, dancing the quickstep to Chicago, 29 out of 30; Ricki Lake and Derek Hough, quickstep, Guys and Dolls, 29 out of 30; Nancy Grace and Tristan MacManus, foxtrot to Spamalot, 24 out of 30; David Arquette and Kym Johnson, quickstep to Grease, 23 out of 30; Rob Kardashian and Cheryl Burke, cha-cha-cha to Jersey Boys, 22 out of 30; Solo and Chmerkovskiy, rumba to Rent, 20 out of 30; Chaz Bono and Lacey Schwimmer, tango to The Phantom of the Opera, 19 out of 30.
We’ll see if the tension’s still lingering when Dancing with the Stars returns Tuesday at 9/8c on ABC.
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