Maksim Chmerkovskiy says he has no regrets for his Monday night comments about Dancing with the Stars judge Len Goodman and doesn't plan on apologizing anytime soon -- even though he believes many people expect him to.
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"Not really, Robin. Look, last time I apologized, it was to my grandma when she was dying of cancer unfortunately for everything that I may have done wrong. I definitely have nothing to apologize for to Len and certainly not [judge Carrie Ann Inaba], so she can make all these faces all she wants."
After Chmerkovskiy performed a rumba with Hope Solo Monday night, Goodman told the American women's soccer star it was her "worst dance" of the season, backing up his critique by explaining how he had 50 years of experience. A frustrated Chmerkovskiy then suggested "maybe it's time to get out" of the business -- sparking Inaba and judge Bruno Tonioli to reprimand him for being "disrespectful."
Chmerkovskiy told Roberts that although people have criticized his verbal slam, he wouldn't take any of it back and will be disappointing those who are anticipating an apology.
"I don't regret anything. That's why I think I'm misunderstood a little bit in this situation. Everybody's waiting for me to bow my head, take a knee and say, 'I'm sorry' and beg for forgiveness, but I have nothing to apologize for. Like I said, I'm in this business because I love it. I can't really lose with remarks like this or that," he said.
Chmerkovskiy -- who reiterated his prior comments in which he clarified that when he said Dancing with the Stars was "his show" Monday night he meant it also belonged to the entire cast and crew -- said it took time for him to accept Dancing with the Stars is both a reality television competition and a dance competition.
"When I got on the show six years ago, I treated it as a dance competition and everybody here tried really hard to change my mind and said, 'Look Maks, it's a show. There are other elements to it like celebrity stories -- where they come from, what they bring to the cast and everything else.' So, I embraced it," the dancer explained.
"But one thing I'm not going to embrace is pointed fingers and disrespectful remarks. So, why is it that the judges are allowed to compare us to animals [like when Tonioli called Chaz Bono a penguin during Monday night's performance show] and say stuff that they think is funny when it's nothing constructive at all and we can't say that they're wrong, basically."
Chmerkovskiy -- who said the other dancers, whether they agree with him or not, are "entitled to their own opinions" -- also seemed to take issue with fellow professional dancer Derek Hough's comments in which he had voiced support for the judges and said they have just been doing their jobs.
"Derek Hough has been very supportive of his personal career on the show and when he says, 'The judges have been generous,' with all due respect, if I had Nicole Scherzinger, followed by Jennifer Grey, followed by Ricki Lake, I probably would not be very upset with the judges either," Chmerkovskiy told Roberts.
Chmerkovskiy explained that while some people are upset that he's been practicing his freedom of speech, as a Ukrainian who immigrated to the United States from a formerly communist country, he has a deeper appreciation for the ability to speak out.
"I'm reading what people say about, 'How can I dare to speak like this?!' Well it's very simple. Seventeen years ago, I was given an opportunity to live in a country where I can actually exercise my freedom of speech. What people don't know is, where I grew up, it was impossible. So, I'm a winner as far as I'm concerned. There's nothing that can bring me down," Chmerkovskiy said.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
