DWTS Champ Says Pro ‘Ripped’ Off Mic in Heated Moment

Heavy/Getty/ABC Karina Smirnoff got mad at Apolo Anton Ohno and ripped off her mic.

Season 4 “Dancing With the Stars” champ Apolo Anton Ohno opened up about his time on the show on the “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast.

The Mirrorball Trophy winner also competed on the All-Stars season and was paired with ballroom pro Karina Smirnoff. Though he admits that he learned a lot from Smirnoff, he said the two didn’t have the same connection that he had with Julianne Hough on season 4.

“We just didn’t have the natural chemistry,” Ohno told podcast host Cheryl Burke on the June 3 episode. “And so Karina would like, she would get mad at me. I remember she would get so pissed and she would just say stuff to me,” he added.

However, when it came to making a reality television show, producers had a job to do — chemistry or not.

“They tried to show some drama, right? They want to touch on that stuff a little bit. I mean, one time, Karina like ripped off the microphone and she’s like, ‘I got to talk to you right now!'” Ohno recalled.

Apolo Anton Ohno Explained Why Karina Smirnoff Got so Upset With Him

The incident in which Smirnoff ripped off her mic is something that Ohno seems to take full responsibility for. On the “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast, the Olympian explained that it was his “lack of emotional participation” that got Smirnoff so upset.

“She would thrive on this raw passion chemistry,” he said, adding that the lack of chemistry really started showing by week three or four.

In a blog post written by Ohno for People magazine in 2012, Ohno echoed these feelings.

“Karina and I were going through some issues. We see each other every single day and it makes things difficult sometimes. At the end of the dance, I don’t think we were as connected as we normally are,” he said.

Apolo Anton Ohno Managed to Stay Positive Throughout the Competition

Despite not feeling a click with Smirnoff, Ohno was dedicated to rehearsals and really wanted to win the All-Stars season.

“I can’t control what happens at the end of the day. I can only control how hard I work and the hours that I put into the studio, so that I can go out there and give my absolute best every single time I step on the dance floor. What Karina and I learned from the hip-hop dance is: It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish. We plan on finishing very strong,” he wrote in another blog for People magazine.

On Burke’s June 2024 podcast, Ohno had nothing but great things to say about both of his pro partners.

“Karina was great. I mean, it’s just, they’re completely opposite people in every essence.
Karina is, she was like a machine. Like she was like, I don’t know how to describe it. She was like a machine,” he said.

“I really learned a lot from both Julianne and Karina, a lot from both of them,” Ohno added later on in the podcast.

READ NEXT: DWTS Season 32 Contestant Starring on Dating Show