S25: Maksim Chmerkovskiy

[Bella]

 

Not sure why it's even being debated!

 

That makes at least two of us. It's time to move along.

[radishcake]

OK and now we're done! See @Bella's post and keep on trucking. :D

[Glaadrial]

She said that she was relieved that he finally won.  Seemed like she was more worried for Maks' sanity since he placed so much value on winning that mirror ball.  Doesn't seem like much of a compliment to me.

This logic seems vaguely familiar to me, but I can't quite place where I've read about Maks' pathological obsession with winning the MBT...oh, yes, now I remember.

[Toonces464]

This logic seems vaguely familiar to me, but I can't quite place where I've read about Maks' pathological obsession with winning the MBT...oh, yes, now I remember.

 

Not to get into anything about Hilary, but if you don't think Maks was obsessed with winning the mirrorball then you haven't been paying attention the past few years or reading and listening to his interviews since the season ended.

[radishcake]

I'm sorry did you guys not see the post from @Bella above? Or the post right after where I said cut it out? Please stop the back and forth where you act like you are astounded by each other's opinion. Seriously.

[cali1981]

In regard to Maks (or any of the Pro dancers wanting the MBT), to quote the great Hermann Edwards during his tenure as the New York Jets head coach "You play to win the game!"  Nuff said.

Edited June 16, 2014 by cali1981

[mbutterfly]

She said that she was relieved that he finally won.  Seemed like she was more worried for Maks' sanity since he placed so much value on winning that mirror ball.  Doesn't seem like much of a compliment to me.

 

 

Not when Maks fans want to declare Hillary Clinton mentioning him as some kind of a victory.

I'm not particularly a Maks fan, but Clinton's comment seems a very pleasant thing to have happened to him. 

[radishcake]

@Bella - That makes at least two of us. It's time to move along.

@radishcake -Please stop the back and forth

Hi all, we've asked several times in this topic for you to stop with the back and forth arguing over the Hilary Clinton quote. Since it was hard to see, I'm repeating it here. If you miss this particular post and accidentally post before you read it, please delete your post. Any posts we see after this that have no new information about Maks and/or are dealing with this quote will be moderated.

 

[truthaboutluv]

I hadn't realized how polarizing Maks seems to be until this season. I wonder if it's a general audience thing or just another nutty TWoP debate!

 

 

Maks always had his opinions and I guess you could say he was outspoken and he'd certainly butted heads a few times with the judges, particularly Carrie Ann. So that already created some of the pro and anti-Maks sentiment imo. However I think his season with Hope was the clincher for a lot of people and it was after that season he left for an extended period so not exactly the most positive lasting impression for some. He did return for the All-Stars season, paired up with Kirstie but I felt like they were mostly a non-entity during that season.

 

But during the season with Hope, things got so tense that there was the live interview with GMA the morning after the infamous "this is my show" comment where he informed everyone that the only person he'd ever apologized to ever in his life was his grandfather, that he'd never said he was wrong, and that he had no interest in the reactions of Carrie Ann and others to his comment (speaking of Derek, I remember the camera caught him doing a "say what now" face in the back when Maks made that comment).

 

I think that season is what really created the polarizing sentiments about Maks. Hope was in my opinion an incredibly entitled nutty bitch who sucked as a dancer. And rather than Maks being a great teacher who helped her get better, IMO he fed her entitlement, by getting all combative and pissy with the judges. Then there were the moments when he got frustrated at just how hopeless she was and he'd get incredibly angry like the group rehearsal he stalked out of that Derek had to take over in showing Hope the steps. That season was just incredibly unpleasant from Maks and like I said, it didn't help that it was one of his last and the lasting impression some had of him before this season's "love-fest" with Meryl.

[Toonces464]

However I think his season with Hope was the clincher for a lot of people

 

 

I also think it's no coincidence he had such "difficult" (for lack of a better word) seasons/partnerships with Hope and Brandy considering the previous seasons he was coming off of with Kirstie and Erin. Remember he took the season after Mel off. And he basically hates all his other partners. LOL

[jhlipton]

Maks always had his opinions and I guess you could say he was outspoken and he'd certainly butted heads a few times with the judges, particularly Carrie Ann.

There's also been his behavior on other shows. There was a sports competition among various celebrities and Max was [edited to be??] pretty obnoxious.

[legaleagle53]

I don't remember him being particularly obnoxious in that competition (which he eventually won, if I remember correctly).  He did have a bit of a meltdown during one wall-climbing challenge, but that was only because he's deathly afraid of heights (he had the same issue during some of the dates on the Ukrainian Bachelor).

[Kromm]

he'd certainly butted heads a few times with the judges, particularly Carrie Ann. 

One of his best qualities (telling a self-important ignoramus off periodically).

[shok]

One of his best qualities (telling a self-important ignoramus off periodically).

 LOL. Oh so true Kromm.

 

I think what's most annoying about the 'polarization' is that there are, in reality, not all that many people who dislike Maks or were unhappy with his win this year but those who do/are repeat their kvetching over and over and over and over again which kind of drowns out the more favorable (and definitely more interesting) discussion about him.

[Stinamaia]

It's so difficult to tell what someone is really like from a TV show, but I enjoy Maks's public persona. And I enjoy his dancing. He makes me smile, I really can't speculate on what it would be like to know him in his daily life, and I don't want to speculate about it because it's fruitless.

I read about Hope in today's news, and I think the story between them was more complicated and nuanced than we know.

[Kromm]

Those ThirtyMileZoners report on Maks and J. Lo being together at a performance of hers at Foxwoods Casino (in the relatively out of the way Connecticut):

 

http://www.tmz.com/2014/06/23/jlo-and-maksim-jennifer-lopez-together-photo-pic/

Any body language experts out there?

[truthaboutluv]

Not a body language expert, but I'll say this, I can't really recall J-Lo ever being rumored to be with someone and it not being true, even after she denies it at first. When she was rumored to be with P. Diddy, it turned out to be true. When it was rumored that she had left him and was dating a back-up dancer, she went on Letterman and did the "don't believe everything you read" and a few weeks later the relationship was confirmed. Then when it was rumored her marriage to said back-up dancer was over and she was hooking up with Ben Affleck, that turned out to be true as well. I could go on. So just on the basis of that, and the fact that this story with Maks is not going away, I'd say it's likely something's going on. 

 

Meanwhile I caught Access Hollywood last night and they featured an interview with Maks at some JC Penney promotional thing (where does Lizzie come up with this stuff) where he at first did the coy thing about how maybe he's dating all three (he's including the gossip that started after he posted that picture of him and Kate Upton hanging out), then basically stated that he and Meryl are friends, that he loves her and that if anything happened between them later that wouldn't be anyone's business. He then pretty much made it sound like he was done with DWTS. What got an eyeroll out of me though was when in response to all the rumors about him and J-Lo, he stated that if he was someone watching and reading all this stuff, he'd be thinking "who is this guy and he must be awesome (it might have been awesome life)."

 

I just had to laugh at Maks' usual delusion because judging by comments on People.com and other entertainment sites it's more "who is this guy and he sounds like a famewhore because wasn't he supposedly hooking up with his celebrity on DWTS?" Also, I had to laugh when the segment was over and Billy Bush, with complete mock disappointed face was all, "Maks fooled us with the Meryl stuff..." Billy was likely kidding around but all I could think was "if you only knew how sadly true that is for many Billy".

Edited June 24, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Bitsy]

"Maks fooled us with the Meryl stuff..." Billy was likely kidding around but all I could think was "if you only knew how sadly true that is for many Billy".

Well, the rumor on tumblr (ahem) is that Access Hollywood looked into the Maks/Meryl thing and found out that 

a) They pretty much haven't seen each other at all since the show ended 5 weeks ago

b) Meryl's rep told them off the record that "she is definitely no longer even considering dating him".  As if she was at one time.

So that's why Billy felt confident calling out Maks for faking a romance with Meryl.

 

Meryl's social media interaction with Maks and his fam seems to have abruptly ended as of this weekend.  No unfollowing, but the steady stream of "likes" on all of their IG's and tweets seems to have come to an end.  (Or maybe just the tumblr girls who were keeping me updated on that stuff have given up? I don't know.)  But it's possible that Meryl was duped in all of this too.

[truthaboutluv]

a) They pretty much haven't seen each other at all since the show ended 5 weeks ago

 

 

Wasn't there a picture of them about two weeks ago, leaving a restaurant or something? Maks supposedly tweeted it with a comment like "Reunited..." 

[Bitsy]

Meryl was in New York on a promotion tour for Puffs for about a day and a half.  She went out to dinner with Maks one night and hung out with him and his friends the other night.  He and his friends documented both encounters all over social media and of course it gave the shippers hope.  That was about a month ago and they haven't seen each other since.  The girls on tumblr are tracking both of them like NORAD and they've been in separate parts of the country/world, mostly doing inconsequential stuff.

[Dots And Stripes]

Maks has been in India judging their DWTS. It's not solving world hunger, but it was a pretty good gig for him. I can't take any of the Tumblr speculation seriously. From what I've seen it's typical shipper stuff with very little connection to reality.

[Bitsy]

The shippers are waiting for them to hook up now that Maks has been back from India and Meryl is back from her vacation, but it's not happening. Instead, Maks signed vodka bottles at a liquor store in New Jersey, promoted JC Penney's free beard trimming service, and hung out with JLo.  Meryl did a meet-and-greet in Colorado and judged a local talent show in Michigan.

 

India was a good excuse, but they could have gone to see each other before and after and they haven't.  2 days together in 5 weeks does not indicate a burgeoning relationship.  Maks was willing to get on a plane to go to LA for one afternoon to attend a wedding, yet has not gotten on a plane to see Meryl once.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Bitsy

[Dots And Stripes]

I don't think Meryl and Maks are dating. They've both made that pretty clear without all of the Tumblr detective work being necessary. I think they hung out when she was in New York because they're friends.

[Barbara Manatee]

b) Meryl's rep told them off the record that "she is definitely no longer even considering dating him". 

 

Meryl has always been so tight-lipped about her personal life that it's hard for me to imagine her giving her management the okay to say anything about it. If that comment is legit, she must be really fed up.

[Toonces464]

I don't think Meryl and Maks are dating. They've both made that pretty clear without all of the Tumblr detective work being necessary. I think they hung out when she was in New York because they're friends.

 

 

Thank you. It's no different than what he does with any of his former partners when they come to NY. There are even pics out there of him having dinner with Hope Solo after their season when she was in NYC.

 

Quite frankly, I think the Tumblr crowd and the ABC crowd have reached a level of delusion that's starting to border on obsessive and frightening.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Toonces464

[truthaboutluv]

Quite frankly, I think the Tumblr crowd and the ABC crowd have reached a level of delusion that's starting to border on obsessive and frightening.

 

 

Curiosity got the better of me and I glanced at the tumblr tag and yikes, that was some crazy rationalizing. By the way, I think my favorite comments were that J-Lo is 44, which apparently means her child-bearing days are well behind her and Maks, who has made it clear how much he wants a family, children, etc. would not get involved with a 44-year old, 3 time divorcee with kids.

 

Now I don't doubt that Maks has said and likely does eventually want a family, settle down, etc. but has he given any indication that's what he wants right now and that he is completely against casual dating/relationships? But really I think what made me laugh the most is because 44 or not, divorcee or not, J-Lo is still Jennifer freaking Lopez and these people are deluded if they think Lizzie and Maks would not enjoy the media attention that would come from him dating someone of her level of fame.

Edited June 24, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[radishcake]

Guys do not start calling other fans delusional. It just kicks up a fight that you don't want me to have to moderate right? Right.

[Buggin]

Maks did mention recently in an interview that he was ready to settle and have babies of his own, but like you said...this is J-Lo. I'm not sure I would pass up a chance to go out with J-Lo and I'm female and have no desire to be famous.

[Aunt Dahlia]

Yeah, there is no management associated with Meryl that would comment "she is no longer considering dating him". She is doing an ABC special that includes dancing with Maks that will be announced later this week. Her management is strictly no comment unless it is positive Mostly they let Meryl speak for herself and she is very capable of doing so.  

[Bitsy]

Yeah, there is no management associated with Meryl that would comment "she is no longer considering dating him". She is doing an ABC special that includes dancing with Maks that will be announced later this week. Her management is strictly no comment unless it is positive Mostly they let Meryl speak for herself and she is very capable of doing so.

I don't know, her management may be really eager to extricate her from the love triangle publicity that he continues to fuel.  He just went on TV again yesterday and when asked about JLo, changed the subject to Meryl and how close they are and what a good time they are having together (really? you haven't even seen each other) and then immediately went outside and basically confirmed the JLo rumors to a TMZ reporter.

 

I really doubt Meryl wants to go out and do interviews about the current state of her love life and her relationship with Maks, but having her management convince the media off the record that she is not part of the story anymore and to leave her out of it?  That makes sense to me.  That's what managers are for.

[Toonces464]

I don't know, her management may be really eager to extricate her from the love triangle publicity that he continues to fuel.

 

 

This is how Maks operates since he took on Lizzie Grubman as his manager. He loves to cry private and then fan the flames to the tabloids. He loves to throw crumbs to various fan groups to keep hope alive so those people will continue to speculate and show interest in him. He loves to talk out of both sides of his mouth and his ass all at the same time.

 

Compare this tabloid frenzy he's put himself into back to when he was with Erin and a story came out about him and Madonna. Within a couple of hours, he took to Twitter and said it absolutely wasn't true. End of story. 

[Aunt Dahlia]

I knew nothing about Maks. If he hadn't been dancing with Meryl I still wouldn't. But Meryl's management is still finishing negotiating with ABC for specials that include Maks. They see all the media attention and they aren't going to kill it even off the record.This is the year for Meryl and Charlie to reap benefits for all 17 years of work.

They sent them on DWTS to bring them to the attention of the part of the public that doesn't watch ice skating.

Meryl is a team player all the way and will put up with this nonsense until the specials are over at least, just like Charlie kept Tanith in the background until after the Olympics so shippers could be happy.

I think the Meryl and Maks ship will sail on until the specials are over at least.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Aunt Dahlia

[Bitsy]

Unless they announce something new - and I'm not sure they will - the "ABC Special" Maks keeps hyping like it proves he and Meryl are bonded for life is probably just one of the Disson skating shows.  Meryl and Charlie were signed up as headliners for those four shows months and months ago, before anybody was looking for her and Maks to appear together in anything.  The idea of turning one of them into a ballroom/skating special happened after the fact.

 

Meryl and Charlie are in absolutely no danger of losing those shows, nor were they ever expected to deliver monster ratings on them.  If working in a professional manner with Maks and doing the expected promotion is the best Meryl does, everybody still comes out ahead.

 

The Disson show is scheduled to be taped in December and aired next February.  I do not think it will be at all good for Meryl's career or for the show for her to remain locked in a messy tabloid love triangle with JLo for the next eight months in order to try to generate interest in one TV special.

 

[Aunt Dahlia]

I have heard differently than just the Disson show and it will be announced later this week. Any way we shall see. My source is someone that works for ABC, but she also said nothing is under contract yet and it could all fall apart still.

[Dots And Stripes]

 

 

The Disson show is scheduled to be taped in December and aired next February.  I do not think it will be at all good for Meryl's career or for the show for her to remain locked in a messy tabloid love triangle with JLo for the next eight months in order to try to generate interest in one TV special.

I don't see Meryl in a messy tabloid love triangle here. Even before the J Lo rumors started most of the major gossip sites (people, us weekly, gossip cop, rumor fix) all said Meryl and Maks were just friends. The ones saying Meryl is in a love triangle are fans on the internet and a few minor blogs, and I don't think they have that much power to make the tabloids run with that story. Access Hollywood might be the exception there, but even they seem to have come to terms with the fact that Meryl and Maks were never a couple off the dance floor. If Maria and Kelly can have showmances while their boyfriends sitting in the front row, Meryl's career isn't in any real danger from Maks being linked to J Lo now, IMO.

 

I have heard differently than just the Disson show and it will be announced later this week. Any way we shall see. My source is someone that works for ABC, but she also said nothing is under contract yet and it could all fall apart still.

Interesting! I assumed the special would just be Disson. I wonder if the negotiation is tied at all to Maks' future with the show. It would be a good bargaining chip for ABC to use if they want him back on DWTS.

 

I would love seeing another Meryl and Maks dance so that the focus can go back to their dancing.

[Aunt Dahlia]

Honestly my best friend's granddaughter is a huge shipper and I don't think anything is going to make these girls calm down. But she is 13 and so are her friends that are into it with her. Hopefully Maks will realize this is a new fan base for him and not disappoint them too much.

They love Meryl with the fire of a thousand sun's.They all ice skate and she is the girl that they all want to be.

Needless to say I have heard so much more than I ever wanted to know about  Maks and Meryl.

Thanks to her I feel I haven't heard anywhere near as much about who my own two children are dating.LOL.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Aunt Dahlia

[Aunt Dahlia]

Talked to my friend Barb again and apparently it is Disson on ABC that Maks is talking about. She had heard somethings that made her think there was a reality component since that is what her boss does. Anyway she says it is still a hot mess on her end.

[tarotx]

Disson Just added a 5th show so perhaps that is what was throwing you off. This new show will probably be the ballroom meets skating that is rumored 

https://twitter.com/DissonSkating/status/482191935088517122/photo/1

Edited June 28, 2014 by tarotx

[Bitsy]

Talked to my friend Barb again and apparently it is Disson on ABC that Maks is talking about. She had heard somethings that made her think there was a reality component since that is what her boss does. Anyway she says it is still a hot mess on her end.

Dahlia, any idea on why it's a hot mess?  Is the announcement going to be postponed or is there a chance it might not happen?

 

The quality of Disson's production has always been bad.  Maybe ABC is trying to intervene to make the show better - I hope so!

[Aunt Dahlia]

Just venue and insurance problems, nothing but red tape stuff that will get sorted soon. Nothing that will prevent it from happening. Insurance for events can be crazy. I once worked on an event where the flying Wallendas were appearing and the insurance covered everything unless a cat climbed on the tightrope in which case everything was voided.Crazy.

[Bitsy]

Dahlia, thanks.  I was wondering why they kept delaying the press release, but I guess it makes sense if venue details need to be nailed down.

[COESpiral]

Has anyone seen the YouTube video of DWTS in Bulgaria where this pro decided to completely rip off Maks and Sharna's choreography from this past season?  He stole Maks's week 2 swing dance and Sharna's week 1 contemporary.  And when I say stole, I don't mean the music or a few moves, I mean everything.  Music, costumes, and step-by-step choreography.  Another pro stole Karina's season 17 freestyle with Corbin.  I guess the good thing was that none of the dances were performed at even a third of the caliber of the original couples.  But it's a shame there's no real copyright for each of these routines because Maks, Sharna, and Karina would be coming into a little extra money.

Edited June 30, 2014 by COESpiral

[Bitsy]

I think DWTS probably owns the rights to the choreography on the show and can give it to their other shows if they want.  There may not be enough pros in Bulgaria who can come up with good choreography.  I'm not surprised the original choreographers are unhappy about it (especially if they weren't told).

 

The Bulgarian version of Maks and Meryl fell down trying to do one of the lifts in the swing dance.  They also copied how Meryl dragged Maks by the foot over to the judge's table.  That wasn't part of the routine it was a spontaneous moment, so that's an extra little slap in the face.

[Aunt Dahlia]

The Disson announcement is finally out and I am actually excited. Some of my favorite ice dancers ever. Maks and Sharna both. Yeah! Also the choreographers are fantastic. 

[Barbara Manatee]

That's an incredible line-up of ice dance teams! I'm expecting to see more DWTS pros added, too. Would it be appropriate to have a separate thread for this, or is it too off-topic?

Edited July 2, 2014 by Barbara Manatee

[tarotx]

Super Fab lineup <3

[WhitneyWhit]

Well what cave did they find Marina Anissina in? I haven't heard anything out of her since she declared that she was going back to the Olympics.

[radishcake]

Guys please try to keep the tone civil in here.

[Aunt Dahlia]

I am excited to see Tanith and Ben and Naomi and Peter. I said before in Meryl's thread that I thought doing DWTS was better as a profile raiser for her beloved sport than another World title. (Although I would love to see Meryl and Charlie compete one more time in Boston).

I really do think Maks and Meryl's chemistry is the reason Disson is going all out with paying for the best. So thank you Maks!

[Toonces464]

I wonder if JLo will be appearing too. LOL