Maksim Chmerkovskiy on DWTS rant: 'I Didn't Mean it in a Selfish Way'

THR talked to Maksim Chmerkovskiy after the Dancing with the Stars performance show Monday night, and Maks clarified some of his more explosive comments on the air after the judges gave Hope Solo a negative critique.

I guess he just misspoke when he said "This is my show." Since apparently he didn't mean that the "show was his."

From THR:

Having publicly called out the judges for what he deemed was unfair criticism, one Maks seemed to regret possibly offending his fellow pros. The other Maks was clearly reveling in the raucous his comments caused.

"I pride myself on the fact that I've never changed," he says. "I think I got smarter... but the integrity is still there. I'm very clear in what I stand for."

To briefly recap, Maks' issue was with judge Len Goodman calling Hope Solo's week 6 performance her worst of the season. When Len brought up his 50 years in the business, Maks quickly snapped, "Maybe it's time to go."

The audience gasped, the judges quibbled and Maks suggested that their critique was "disrespectful."
On this matter, he's staying on point. "Len is the only one who comes from a ballroom background, and I really respect his opinion," he says -- though maybe not tonight's. "I've danced for 27 years, and I've won more titles than Len ever even participated in.

After their critique, Maks and Hope adjourned to the contestants' holding pen. It was there that the real fiery comments came out and where Maks thinks his intent may have been misconstrued.

"With all due respect, this is my show," he said to co-host Brooke Burke Charvet. "I helped make it what it is."

Maks says he never meant to imply sole ownership. "I feel like it's my show, and together, with other pros, I dedicated six years of my life to this show," he says. "I've helped make it what it is, but I've never taken it away from anybody else who participated."

"Like I said, it's my show, and I didn't mean it in a selfish way," he says. "I love it. It's what I love doing. Our fans are phenomenal."

"If anything, I've been under the radar this entire [season]," he says. "All of a sudden the haters are like, 'Now we have something to talk about.'"