Heavy/Getty/ABC Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy revealed that he butted heads with one of his “Dancing With the Stars partners just for doing his job.
In a March 2024 interview on “Getting Grilled With Curtis Stone,” the pro dancer said he argued with actress Kirstie Alley over the lack of “personal space” he gave her on the dance floor. Chmerkovskiy claimed Alley, who died in 2022 at age 71, even called him names.
Chmerkovskiy and Alley were partnered together on DWTS seasons 12 and 15, where they landed in 2nd and 7th place, respectively. But their two-time partnership was not easy as the feisty actress repeatedly challenged the Ukrainian-American dancer.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy Admitted He Became Frustrated While Teaching Kirstie Alley How to Dance
GettyMaksim Chmerkovskiy and Kirstie Alley
While speaking with Stone, Chmerkovskiy, 44, shared that dancers like him from the Latin ballroom world don’t care about “personal space” while performing. He then shared how Alley famously accused him of being “flirty” during their rehearsals. But he explained he was in panic mode while trying to teach her the proper dance form for the rumba.
“I’m having a heart attack, because I don’t know what else to do. How to figure this out. I’m sitting here, ripping my hair out,” he said. “She’s like, ‘You’re so flirty.’ I’m like, ‘I’m not flirting with you.’ Why would you say that? She’s like, ‘Well, look at where your hands are?…It’s on my butt.’”
“I’m like, ‘It’s on the part where your center of gravity is, at a place where I can move you,” he explained. “I’m like, my hands are not on your shoulder, because you’re going to keel over. Like I’ve got to move that, you know. So where do you think my hand should be?'”
Alley even called him names as she insisted he was being flirtatious.
“She’s standing like, ‘You’re an [expletive].’ I’m like, ‘What? I’m explaining factually like what I’m doing,’” Chmerkovskiy shared. “So, you know, just because you’re not used to that hand placement doesn’t mean that we’re having this flirtation, right? But if this is not communicated, she’s walking away thinking, ‘Oh, my God. He’s hitting on me. He’s hitting on me the entire rumba.’ I’m like, ‘No I’m not! I’m just trying to make it look like a rumba!”
Maks Chmerkovskiy Once Described Kirstie Alley as His Most ‘Challenging’ Partner
GettyMaksim Chmerkovskiy and Kirstie Alley.
This is not the first time Chmerkovskiy has talked about his struggle with the former “Cheers” star. In September 2023, he told Cheryl Burke’s “Sex, Lies and Spray Tans” podcast that Alley was his most “challenging” dance partner of all time. “I would say Kirstie [Alley] because it was twice and a lot,” he said.
He also shared the story about Alley calling him “flirty” and explained that he was getting frustrated with her. “I’m walking around nervously pacing trying to think how to make this woman look good on Monday,” he said. “And we’re running out of time, she’s not getting it, and it’s like oh my God what else can I do? And in the midst of that, she’s like, ‘You’re so flirty.’ I’m like, ‘Kirstie, please. Not right now. I’m begging.’”
He noted that he actually did Alley a “favor” by keeping her balanced. “It’s the misunderstanding of close proximity,” he added of the actress’s confusion over his intentions.
According to Us Weekly, Alley later thanked Chmerkovskiy for being understanding during their DWTS partnership. Following their elimination from “Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars” in 2012, she said, “I wanted to thank Maks because he’s so patient with me.”
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