Fans of "Dancing With the Stars" ballroom bad boy Maksim Chmerkovskiy have been waiting for him to really lose his newfound cool this season and revert back to the fiery pro of seasons past. And on Monday's performance show, he more than delivered.
Granted, it wasn't the judges he gave a piece of his mind to (yet), but his celeb partner, Melissa Gilbert. And rather than a live outburst, it was a shocking, profanity-laced tirade caught during rehearsals.
Yeah, it was bad. And Maks knows it (especially since Melissa admitted after the show that she plugged her ears during the angry clip).
"Throughout my little bleeping rant, the one thought in the front of my mind is, 'I feel so bad for (Melissa),'” the pro told reporters after the show. "I swear to God, it’s just like every curse word I know is right here."
So why'd he do it?
"At one point I decided it’s very hard for me to lie, and there are different forms of lying," Maks explained. "And one of them is just being fake. And so I can reach back, turn the mic off, walk out (of rehearsal), do something, whatever, come back in and go, 'OK, let’s do it.' Or I can just do it right there, just blow up steam. Nothing is personal. Nothing is addressed at her. It has nothing to do with her."
Though the clip didn't show Melissa fight back against Maks' harsh words, the actress wants viewers to know one thing: "I’m not being a little, tiny mousy person just standing there going, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll never do it again!' I mean, I was giving it right back!"
She also backed up her pro partner, despite the harsh words in rehearsal. "I think what is also discounted is that this is a cumulative process," she told reporters. "We have not had a day off from the moment we met. And we’re forced into our lovely arranged marriage. We have not had a day off and so everything is heightened. Anger is heightened, frustration is heightened."
As Melissa pointed out, exhaustion plus cameras is kind of genius if you want drama in a show. Add them to the rehearsal rooms, and "DWTS" has got a gold mine.
"When you (put cameras in the training rooms), you're probably gonna get to see things you don't want to," Maks said. "We as artists, as entertainers, pride ourselves on the performances. We don’t care about daily routines. But this is where the ugly comes out or might come out."
Fans of the show know that when Maks blows up -- whether it's at the judges or his partners -- it's because he's so passionate about dance and giving his stars the best chance they have to improve as much as they can. Sometimes, as Monday night's clip showed, he might push a little too hard -- even for the folks behind the show. And apparently, he's been told to chill out before.
"I was told a couple of times this season and past seasons – I’m not going to say who or when – but I was told that, 'Listen, you’ve got to relax. You have a participant. You don’t have a winner. You don’t have someone that’s going to go far,' " Maks revealed to reporters. "For me, when I hear that, I go, 'OK, great,' but I’m going to give it my best. And I’ll give her my best. And she’ll give me her best. I’ll do whatever it takes."
Even if when it makes him look like a bad guy.
What did you think of Maks' latest rant? Did it impact who you voted for? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page. And be sure to join me and Ree Hines for our weekly "DWTS" live chat Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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