Television November 26, 2007
Maksim Chmerkovskiy: 'There Are a Lot of People Better Than Marie'
America's favorite show is “Dancing” its way to the finish line, and only “Extra” has the all-new exclusive with the pro who's stepping on plenty of toes!
Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Mel. B's partner, is sounding off on why he thinks Marie Osmond doesn't deserve to be in the finals.
Maks tells us of the final three, "I think Jennie was better than Marie. Frankly, I think there are a lot of other people better than Marie.”
When asked to predict who will win the coveted trophy, he says, “I'm hoping that it is Mel and I, but I'm not sure that is going to happen. History shows it's either a cute man or somebody with a huge fan base and I think Marie has both Helio and Mel's fan base combined times five.”
As for the sympathy vote playing in Marie Osmond's favor, Maks says,“Yeah, I think she represents a lot of women out there with all their problems.”
He continues, “I know first hand that there are a lot of other celebrities on the show who went through somewhat similar situations this season and they decided not to make it public… we decided not to burden people with our personal issues. I think that is why our fan base carries us through because they vote for our dancing not whatever happens in our life.”
“Extra” has learned that more Marie drama will unfold in the ballroom tonight: All her children, which may include Michael, her young son currently in rehab, are expected to be in the audience.
Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough revealed they'll have their own family cheering from the sidelines tonight.
“I have 14 brothers and sisters,” Julianne said. “I've got millions and millions of cousins and aunts and uncles!”
In a show where skin is in, Maks says that Mel B. is ready to show off her body.
“She's gonna be showing a lot of skin,” Maks reveals. “The most skin the show has ever seen!”
Maks also says the stage will have mattresses tonight to prevent any accidents.
“Mel is a very expensive entity for the show and for the Spice Girls and we don't want any accidents,” Maks says.
Who makes it safely to the end is anyone's guess.
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba told “Extra,” “This season has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least. People who were in the lead have dropped; people who were at the bottom are at the top.”
