Bristol Palin Recalls Feeling 'Tension' from Maks Chmerkovskiy After Surviving Elimination onDWTS: 'He Hated Me'

Mar. 15, 2025

getty (2)

According toBristol Palin,Maks Chmerkovskiywas not her biggest fan.

During the Aug. 26 episode ofCheryl Burke’sSex, Lies and Spray Tanspodcast, the daughter of former Alaskan governorSarah Palin, 33, opened up about the unpleasant exchange she had with the longtimeDancing with the Starspro when she competed in season 11.

Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas on “Dancing with the Stars”.Adam Taylor/getty

Adam Taylor/getty

The Boyhartt founder admitted that she didn’t know the true reason behind Chmerkovskiy’s alleged disdain, which the pro dancer’s rep denied to PEOPLE.

“[It was] probably just because we kept going through,” she explained. “I mean, he was real nice at the beginning, but it was one of those things where as we kept going through.”

Palin added, “I definitely felt the tension from him. I forgot about that. Because the further we went along in it, the more it was like, ‘Oh gosh, okay.'”

From left: Brandy and Maksim Chmerkovskiy on “Dancing with the Stars”.Adam Larkey/getty

Adam Larkey/getty

In 2010, Chmerkovskiy and his celebrity partner Brandy were eliminated despite being frontrunners all season. Bristol and her partner Mark Ballas advanced to the next round and ended up placing third.

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At the time, the news of Chmerkovskiy and Brandy’s elimination made shockwaves in theDWTS-verse.

Todayreported that a Wisconsin man named Steven N. Cowan had loaded his shotgun and allegedly shot a round into his television screen when Palin moved forward because he “did not think that she was a good dancer.”

source: people.com