‘DWTS’ Season 11 Alum Reveals Explosive Backstage Drama

It’s not uncommon for competitors to clash on Dancing With The Stars. But according to one Season 11 contestant, backstage is riddled with toxic behavior.

This new interview comes as Strictly Come Dancing faces its own scandal over abusive behavior behind the scenes. So what exactly happened to cause one DWTS alum to hate her time in the ballroom?

On a new episode of Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans, former pro dancer Cheryl Burke interviewed DWTS Season 11 contestant Bristol Palin. She finished in third place with pro dancer Mark Ballas. While the opportunity was great at first, there were many negative instances that soured the experience.

“I thought we were cool. I thought things were so fun,” Bristol shared.

However, things took a sharp turn when singer Brandy and her pro partner Maks Chmerkovskiy got voted off just ahead of the finale. After that, Bristol Palin shares the situation quickly turned awkward and Maks grew incredibly cold toward her.

Cheryl Burke confirmed the tension in the ballroom was palpable. She added that Brandy’s mother shouted that the competition was rigged from the audience.

“You saw some cast members roll their eyes every time you guys would make it through. That must’ve not been fun to deal with, right?” Cheryl prompted Bristol on the show. She confirmed that Maks Chmerkovskiy would frequently roll his eyes at her.

“Oh, he hated me so much,” Bristol admitted. “I definitely felt the tension from him.”

However, Maks wasn’t the only one she allegedly butted heads with. The reality star confirmed more than one cast member had called her a rude name backstage.

This certainly isn’t the first time someone accused Maks Chmerkovskiy of poor behavior in the ballroom. However, he chose to respond this time.

“Maks doesn’t hate anybody. For [Palin] to say that would be a mischaracterization of his feelings,” a representative for the Ukrainian dancer told Entertainment Weekly. “I think he and everyone else in America, 14 years ago, thought that he and Brandy were on their way to winning that year, if not coming into the finals. So there was a bit of disappointment when she leapfrogged him into the finals. It’s a competition. He’s very competitive and took it seriously.”

Do you think Maks Chmerkovskiy behaved inappropriately toward Bristol Palin? Or is she reading too much into the situation? Share what you think in the comments.

Keep following for the latest DWTS news and updates. Catch the Season 33 premiere at 8 PM Eastern time on Tuesday, September 17.

Source: TV Shows Ace, Entertainment Weekly