HOPE & MAKS
If there was ever a time Maksim Chmerkovskiy left the ballroom with a bittersweet taste in his mouth, Tuesday was surely the instance.
Chmerkovskiy and celebrity partner Hope Solo marched on during the Week 2 results show of "Dancing with the Stars," despite being dealt a baffling score of 19 points for their Jive routine during - what turned out to be - a bizarre night on the dancefloor.
But Chmerkovskiy's moment of elation wound up being short-lived when host Tom Bergeron announced Val Chmerkovskiy and partner Elisabetta Canalis were eliminated from the competition. And Chmerkovskiy didn't hold back when asked his thoughts about the departure of his brother.
"I am not upset about Val's elimination," Chmerkovskiy told us exclusively following Tuesday's show. "I'm pissed that the judges allowed it to happen, by not separating them from the less-able celebrity dancers and 'evening' up the score.
"Having said that, I'm proud of the work Val did with Elisabetta and foresee a 'star in the making' from the younger Chmerkovskiy!"
Those feelings about the judges' scoring echoed across the Internet, with the most notable jabs and comments coming from the Twitter world. Several pairs - including Chmerkovskiy and Solo - were on the receiving end of what were perceived to be inaccurate totals during Week 2 of the competition.
Solo, one of the stars of the United States Women's National soccer team, and Chmerkovskiy led off things with a baffling score of 19 points for their Jive, performed to "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne. That left them in the bottom four in eighth place after finishing alone in third during the opening of the Season 13 edition of the show.
Chmerkovskiy was obviously pleased he and Solo advance on the show. He also said the scoring was pretty much irrelevant at this point as well.
"It's more what Hope will take away from this week and how she'll apply it toward next week's improvement," Chmerkovskiy said.
Right below the pair with 18 points were both Carson Kressley and Anna Trebunskaya, who was learned he was safe at the start of the results show, as well as David Arquette and Kym Johnson. Arquette and Johnson found themselves in the bottom two pair at the end of the night, but survived when Bergeron dealt Chmerkovskiy and Canalis the disappointing news.
Chaz Bono and Lacey Schwimmer finished with 17 points for the second consecutive week, which essentially led them to a spot in the final group of three couples. Bono and Schwimmer received the same scores from each judge two weeks in a row as well.
"Dancing with the Stars" returns for Week 3 on Monday at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
- Jeremy Pond, Publisher
- Courtesy photo
