Posts Tagged ‘steve-o’

DWTS Watch: Shawn Johnson Wins!

May 20th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson can now add the Dancing with the Stars mirror ball trophy to her trophy case, as the peppy teen beat out hunky French actor Gilles Marini in the closest one-two finish in the ABC show’s history.

Although she’s been strong all season, Shawn’s Tuesday night finale victory was considered an upset by many, as her fellow stars Gilles and Bachelor beauty Melissa Rycroft (who finished third) had long been considered the front-runners. However, as okmagazine.com reported last night, Shawn’s energetic freestyle routine, full of cartwheels and other tricks, blew away the competition.

In their last dances on Tuesday’s results show, all three finalists got perfect 30s for their routines. But judge Carrie Ann Inaba foreshadowed the surprise ending when she told Shawn, “we all underestimated you.”

“I feel amazing. This is the most rewarding experience I’ve ever been through,” the 17-year-old gymnast told OK! after the show. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve loved every second of it. It’s changed my life and made me a better person.

“I was told at the Olympics I couldn’t dance,” she said. “I proved everybody wrong. Look, I can dance!”

Her partner, Mark Ballas, who also won DWTS two seasons ago with another athlete, skater Kristi Yamaguchi, fell to the floor after hearing the results. "I was blown away," He explained to OK!. “I was put on the floor — sorry for my emotional explosion at the end there. But you work so hard; it’s weeks of blood, sweat, and tears and I’ve dedicated my life to dancing and it’s been an honor to take Shawn to the end. I can’t thank the fans enough for voting for us.”

Meanwhile, Sex and the City actor Gilles finished second, less than one percent behind Shawn, according to DWTS host Tom Bergeron. After the show, OK! saw him tenderly kiss his son Georges, 10, and tell him, “it’s not always about winning.”

Later, he said, “Shawn is only seven years older than my son, so I’m very happy for her. For him, he understands one thing — daddy lost — so it’s difficult for him. But I’ll make him understand. I’m thrilled but just emotional for my son — he doesn’t understand why; daddy danced good all season. But It’s part of life.”

Gilles, who has danced with a separated shoulder, told OK! he’ll soon have shoulder surgery: “I need to get that surgery quick because things are going to kick in my life acting wise and I have to be able to move it.” In fact, he’s nabbed a role on the ABC show Brothers & Sisters for next season. “We’re going to start shooting in August. I’m excited because the cast is insanely brilliant and I’m like, what an honor to be there.”

His partner, Cheryl Burke, said she’s taking a two-week vacation to St. Lucia with her boyfriend, model Maxwell Zagorski, and then devoting herself to her dance studios and new clothing line this summer. The dance partners vowed to be friends forever. “I love this girl to death,” Gilles said.

Melissa and partner Tony Dovolani also stayed positive. She said the results were “awesome. Shawn 100 percent deserves it. In 17 years of her life, she’s accomplished more than what most people will accomplish in their entire lives and she’s the sweetest, most genuine girl that I know. I love her so I’m so happy she’s walking away with this.”

She added, ”Going into today, all of us were winners in the sense that we’ve come so far from show number one to now. We’ve all become such good friends and accomplished so much, overcome injuries and hard dances and all the mental strain that comes with it.

“Tony turned me into a performer and got me to perform 12 dances.”

When asked if she’d do another reality show, Melissa, who famously got jilted on the last season of The Bachelor, said, “I don’t know. I’m not pursuing anything, [but] if anything comes my way, I’ll definitely consider it because the world has definitely opened up a little bit.”

Melissa can’t wait to go home to Dallas and see her friends and family. She told OK! about a possible vacation with her boyfriend, Tye Strickland, “We want to, but schedules are busy. He’s working back home.”

Her devoted partner Tony said, “She’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. She brought the best out of me. Whenever she puts her heart into it, this woman will always come out on top.” And this time, Melissa’s reality TV experience has been a lot nicer: “I’m happy she gets to go home with a smile on her face,” Tony declared.

The entire Season 8 cast for DWTS came back for the finale, and some weren’t surprised that Shawn took home the trophy.

Competitor and computer wiz Steve Wozniak told OK!, “Shawn had the largest audience support from middle America. I’ve believed for a long time that her numbers were high.” And cowboy Ty Murray, who finished an unexpected fourth, said, “I knew an Olympic gold medalist fan base was going to be hard to overcome.”

By Carole Glines

DWTS Watch: The Final Three Compete

May 18th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson looked like she was winning the gold medal on Monday night’s Dancing with the Stars season finale, as she turned in the most dynamic dance of the season with a freestyle routine that played to all her strengths and overshadowed rival celeb competitors Gilles Marini and Melissa Rycroft.

Although Shawn’s combined score of 58 for her two dances tied her with Gilles, she was the talk of the night for her high-energy freestyle dance. She earned a perfect 30 from the judges for the routine, which featured cartwheels and other incredible tricks — and had judge Bruno Tonioli on his feet. “It was an explosive performance,” he said in praising the 17-year-old cutie, who dances with pro Mark Ballas.

“I felt amazing!" an excited Shawn told OK! after the show. "The freestyle was by far my favorite dance and I just really let loose and had a great time and held nothing back. I’ve learned I can be more than a gymnast.”

Mark said, “I definitely feel if you watched the whole season from start to finish that Shawn is the most improved. Her little face tonight, her personality — I could just feel it dancing next to her. I’m so proud of her and so grateful to all the fans.”

The final three stars started the night by doing a paso doble face-off, with each couple performing one after the other, and beginning and ending the dance as a group. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba declared, “You’re all incredible.” Gilles earned a perfect 30, Melissa a 29, and Shawn a 28 for the paso.

But it’s always the freestyle routines that the audience looks forward to the most.

Gilles, who received a score of 28 for his freestyle, faced criticism by two of the judges. While Len Goodman said it was “slick” and “high energy,” Carrie Ann called his Flashdance-inspired routine “an odd choice,” because the original movie featured a female dancer, and Bruno thought it lacked content, sighing, “I wanted more actual dancing.”

Backstage, the Sex and the City actor told OK!, “It went really well. We had one perfect score and we did pretty good on the other dance. Having those scores? I love it!”

His partner, two-time DWTS champion Cheryl Burke, said they have no idea what their chances are of taking home the trophy Tuesday night.

Gilles confided even after all this time, “We don’t know what our fan base is. Shawn? American hero, gold medalist, young, cute little thing. Who am I? A French born guy, older. Hopefully we’ve made people happy with what they’ve seen.”

Gilles, who wore a ripped tee shirt that displayed his buff chest for the freestyle, said “my son [Georges] loves it. I have to bring it home. He thinks a tiger was backstage and tore it apart.”

Meanwhile, Melissa Rycroft — who shot to fame after she was jilted on another ABC reality show, The Bachelor — and her partner Tony Dovolani also got some negative judging for their freestyle, which scored a 27. Of the hip-hop routine, Len said, “I don’t get it” and Bruno called it “a bit disjointed.”

Still, although she’s in third place with a cumulative 56, Melissa was characteristically upbeat after the show, telling OK!, “I’m happy. I thought we went out and rapped it. We had a great time out there. The music was fun, the audience was great. We were confident with everything.”

Tony added, “I had a blast. For me, it was an emotional night because I wanted to make sure on her last episode, she had the biggest smile on her face and that’s exactly what we did. We didn’t dance for the judges tonight — We danced for the fans that pulled us through, even with the hurdles we had.”

The dancing pro was referring to Melissa’s fractured ribs three weeks ago, which caused her to be unable to perform live. She was judged on her dress rehearsal and managed to survive elimination and then make it to the finale.

Tony himself suffered an eye injury during a freestyle rehearsal this week when Melissa accidentally hit him.

Melissa said her rib injury is “probably not 100 percent” healed yet. “But it’s the finale. You got to do it.”

Tomorrow night, the competitors perform only for the judges’ scores and then the winner is announced. Who will walk off with the disco ball trophy? It’s anyone’s guess in the most wide-open DWTS contest for the past few seasons.

By Carole Glines

DWTS: Ty Murray Rides Off Into the Sunset

May 13th, 2009

It’s back to the ranch for rodeo champ Ty Murray, as he and partner Chelsie Hightower were eliminated from Dancing with the Stars on Tuesday night.

From the very beginning, it looked like Ty wasn’t going to last long with poor performances and even poorer scores. But the determined cowboy kept plugging away and gradually came to impress the judges and fans on his way to becoming a surprise fourth-place finisher.

“Both me and Chelsie felt like we had an army of people behind us, cheering us on," the unflappable Ty, who is married to platinum-selling singer Jewel, told OK! after being eliminated. "That’s your motivation to keep working at it. I’m not going to lie — I’m tired of learning dances. I’m so glad I don’t have to go learn two more for next week. I really am.”

Monday night, Ty and Chelsie received the lowest scores — 25 for their Viennese waltz; 23 for the samba — among the four remaining pairs. And it looks like the voting audience at home agreed.

So what now? “I got to go to the ranch and get some work buttoned up there," he told OK!. "I got about 500 head of cattle I need to work and as soon as we get done with that, the grass is green and mother nature will take care of them and me and Jewel will take a vacation.”

Chelsie, who is hoping to come back for next season’s DWTS with a new celebrity partner, also told OK! she’s considering a vacation. “It’s not in the works at the moment but it will be soon. I was thinking Mexico but since the whole swine flu thing… I’m thinking somewhere warm.”

Meanwhile, Ty’s exit clears the path to next week’s finale for the three remaining pairs. “This is all we’ve been working for and we made it to the last week,” crowed Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, with partner Mark Ballas by her side.

Former Bachelor star Melissa Rycroft, who dances with Tony Dovolani, said, “It feels incredible. Tony and I sit back and have to remember where we were a few weeks ago and to see where we are right now is something that couldn’t have been scripted. It would seem unrealistic and unbelievable.”

And last but certainly not least, Sex and the City actor Gilles Marini — who is featured in an exclusive photoshoot and interview in the next issue of OK! — promised, “I’m going to do my best. America will choose. I have a lot of work to do — from my footsteps to my arms to my head. I don’t even know what time it is but I give a lot of passion to what I do. Shawn, Melissa, and I are there and it’s going to be pure fun.”

By Carole Glines

DWTS Watch: Gilles Achieves Perfection

May 12th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

Gilles Marini got two perfect scores in the semifinals of Dancing with the Stars on Monday night — and he didn’t even take his shirt off!

The French actor, best known for his revealing role in last year’s Sex and the City movie, and his partner Cheryl Burke blew away the competition by earning a 30 for their graceful waltz and a 30 for their energetic salsa. The salsa was so inspired that it had notoriously tough judge Len Goodman saying, “I wish I had an ‘11’ paddle.”

After scoring the highest of the final four, Gilles told OK! “It feels beautiful and amazing. It’s a big struggle, but a big payoff. Cheryl has to kick my butt, otherwise I don’t function. She’s been pushing me.”

Gilles said he knew he was capable of getting perfect scores and added, “I think the judges understand how much work it is and it’s no BS with me — I’ve never danced before the show. It’s pure work and showing them respect and I think they read that.”

The cumulative second place position went to gymnast Shawn Johnson and partner Mark Ballas, who got their first perfect score this season, a 30, for their dramatic Argentine tango. The judges only gave them a 26 for their jive, however, with Carrie Ann Inaba saying the second half of the dance was weak.

But backstage, plucky Shawn was unfazed, telling OK! “I thought it was our best week yet. I thought our jive was amazing even though we didn’t get the best scores. We’ve learned not to put everything into the judging. It’s all about the votes and about how America enjoys it.”

Mark came to her defense, saying he was kind of “bummed out” that the judges said she didn’t do enough jive moves. “If you check the book syllabus, she had an American spin; she had a Pat-a-cake, a changeover from left to right. We were sweating this week to the point that we were like drowned rats!” Mark also revealed their jive caused him an embarrassing problem: “I got a wedgie. The shirt’s really tight!”

Luckily, though, Shawn and Mark did better Monday night than they did during an exhibition at the Wango Tango concert event over the weekend, as she completely forgot her dance steps. “We were performing a dance we did like four weeks ago and I have a short-term memory anyway," she said. "And we figured out I didn’t remember it ten minutes before we went on — so we decided to re-learn it and I got up there and I was like, ‘oh, my God!’ ”

Mark laughed that as he “yanked” Shawn around the floor he told her, “just smile!”

Meanwhile, ex-Bachelor star Melissa Rycroft and her partner Tony Dovolani came in third on Monday night, receiving a 28 for their quickstep and a 27 for their tango. The reality show beauty, who had been the frontrunner most of the season until she fractured her ribs two weeks ago, came in for surprisingly tough criticism from the judges. While last week Carrie Ann fawned over Melissa’s samba, on Monday night, she sternly said she saw “no joy” in the DWTS competitor’s quickstep.

But Melissa said it was tough because, “everybody brought their A game tonight.” Tony said, “After the high of our samba last week, we had to really raise the bar. To be honest with you, I didn’t even hear what the judges said.” Melissa said, “Right before we went out tonight, we set a goal for ourselves to be personally happy and satisfied with our routines because up until now, we hadn’t been. We were nervous going out there. Personally, I was really happy tonight.” Another reason for her happiness? She’s feeling great as her rib injury is about 80 percent healed.

All of the competitors Monday night were treated to a clips package from their hometowns, in which their friends and family members praised them and shared baby pictures. Melissa’s seemed a bit incomplete to OK!, however, as her Texas boyfriend Tye Strickland didn’t appear on camera. “He’s not shy, but it’s a private relationship,“ Melissa explained after the show.

About the night’s leader, she said, “I think Gilles absolutely deserved a perfect score” as Tony gave him a congratulatory pat on the bottom.

Meanwhile, cowboy Ty Murray, the surprise semifinalist of this season after besting Lil Kim last week, has shown America his resilience with partner Chelsie Hightower.

Still, he scored the lowest, getting a 25 for his Viennese waltz and 23 for his samba, which judge Bruno Tonioli said looked uncomfortably like he was walking a tightrope. After the show, the self-deprecating rodeo champ said, “We knew coming into the night that I was the fourth best dancer on the show but we just wanted to do our best. We felt we did pretty close to that. It’s hard for me to tell because after the dances, I can’t tell the difference—which one did you do better? I really have no idea.

“It’s like teaching a blind guy how to paint,” he chuckled. “Chelsie has her work cut out for her. They gave her the block of wood.”

Tune in Tuesday night to see if Ty’s fans save him again as another competitor must go home!

By Carole Glines

DWTS Watch: It’s All Over for Lil Kim

May 6th, 2009

In the most shocking elimination this season, rapper Lil’ Kim was voted off Dancing with the Stars on Tuesday night.

Most fans and insiders had been predicting it would be the end of the trail for cowboy Ty Murray, who received the lowest scores among the competitors on Monday night — and who had never really managed to seem comfortable on the dance floor.

And while Kim and partner Derek Hough did earn the second-lowest scores this week, their combined score of 52 was significantly higher than Ty and Chelsie Hightower’s total of 46.

“I’m okay," the rapper told OK! after getting the bad news. "I would love to still be here — Who wouldn’t want to make it to the finals? — but at the same time, I still have my other life and I get to go back into the studio. I get to do everything I used to do. It’s mixed emotions, I guess!”

The biggest down side to leaving the show? “I’m going to miss my partner,” she sighed.

But Derek, who was the partner of last season’s champ, Brooke Burke, hugged Kim, saying, “I’m not going nowhere, baby!” And he had nothing but good things to say about Kim: “She’s come out here and proven herself so much.”

Lil’ Kim is now moving on to other projects, including a book due out later this year called The Price of Loyalty. “It’s about the time when I stayed in prison, the things I learned and went through," she explained. "You don’t think about things until it happens to you. The book is going to give people who have been in those situations a bright outlook on life.”

Kim said she’s still tinkering around on an album. “I haven’t gotten into the studio with the producers that I really want to be in the studio with,” she explained. “I just want to get the perfect song and maybe in a couple weeks, release something.”

The singer said she hopes Derek and fellow DWTS pro Karina Smirnoff will help choreograph her concert show, incorporating some ballroom moves.

Gymnast Shawn Johnson, with partner Mark Ballas by her side, said she was “extremely shocked” about Kim’s elimination. “Nobody wanted to see her go.”

Frontrunner Melissa Rycroft, who got a perfect 30 on Monday night with partner Tony Dovolani, added, “she was so sweet and has a huge heart and the show brought out a side of Lil’ Kim that I think a lot of people didn’t know was there. Her vulnerable side was shown and she has something about her that’s genuine.”

The Bachelor beauty was excited to perform the encore dance Tuesday night: “It was so fun today because there was no pressure, no scores, no judges’ comments. I think it felt better tonight than it did last night. Our goal is to have the audience smiling with us.”

Meanwhile, Ty told OK! about himself and partner Chelsie’s unexpected trip to the semifinals. “We feel a little surprised — but we’ve felt a little surprised every Tuesday for the last nine weeks," he explained. "Each couple on the show has a team behind them in America but nobody knows how big their team is and that makes it fun. Our supporters call themselves ‘the cowboy army.’ Obviously, we’ve got a good fan base — cowboys and ranchers and farmers and Western lifestyle.”

Actor Gilles Marini, who dances with Cheryl Burke, admitted with a smile that Ty is stiff competition: “You cannot take Ty down. He’s so lovable.”

Now, the final four competitors — Melissa, Gilles, Shawn, and Ty — go on to next week’s semifinals!

By Carole Glines

DWTS Watch: Melissa Rycroft Bounces Back!

May 5th, 2009

Only a week after barely avoiding elimination when an injury forced her to sit out the live performance show, former Bachelor babe Melissa Rycroft made an amazing comeback on Monday night’s Dancing with the Stars, defying all the naysayers, by scoring a perfect 30 for her samba!

“We went out there pumped full of adrenaline and energy and it was great," a thrilled Melissa told OK! after the show. "It feels very good to be back.”

Added Melissa’s partner Tony Dovolani, “We have a ritual that we pray before every single performance — our prayer today was a thank you to our fans. I hope they’re happy with it because I was ecstatic about the way she performed.”

The brunette beauty, who received a solid 27 for the night’s other dance, a waltz, explained, “We were coming out to show the fans why they saved us. We love being out there — the scores, on top of that, were like icing on the cake!”

Meanwhile, her fellow competitors weren’t far behind. Sex and the City hunk Gilles Marini and partner Cheryl Burke were tied for second after receiving a 29 for their foxtrot and 27 for their rumba. Women in the audience gasped at their sexy rumba, which had Gilles rolling around on the dance floor with Cheryl. But judge Carrie Ann Inaba sighed that it was “over the top.”

After the show, Gilles told OK!, “It went well. The judges are not tough. They called it too sexy? I didn’t try that at all. I really was rushing a bit because I was excited but they were right.”

Cheryl, whose birthday was on Sunday and who was getting ready to have a belated birthday dinner with Gilles and other pals later that night, said, “as long as people remember it enough to vote, that’s all that matters.”

Gilles said his wife, Carole, approved of the routine: “She’s very supportive. She looked at me and said, ‘I love it.’ That’s my wife. I’m very lucky to have that.”

Joining Gilles and Cheryl in second were Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas, who got a 27 for their quickstep and a 29 for their paso doble.

“I felt amazing!" the gymnast told OK!. "These are two completely different dances and two different characters. I honestly didn’t think we’d be able to pull it off this week. We were really stressed and down to the wire on time.” The 17-year-old also explained that because of her age, they can’t practice more than five hours a day.

Lil’ Kim, who did so well last week, received scores of 25 for her waltz and 27 for her salsa with partner Derek Hough. “We’ve had better nights,” she admitted after the show. “We had three days to put together two dances. I’ve never been so exhausted. I’m not a morning person; I’ve been up a 6 o’clock in the morning. This schedule is getting to me as far as getting up really early.”

While Kim is worried about tomorrow night’s elimination show, Ty Murray got the lowest scores, making fans wonder if it finally could be the end of the DWTS trail for the plucky cowboy, who surprised everyone this season with his improvement. The judges gave him a 25 for his Argentine tango and just 21 for his rumba, which he ended with a shimmy right in front of his wife Jewel, who was sitting in the audience.

Ty said he doesn’t know what will happen tomorrow but, “we feel like we’ve got a lot of support. Chelsie and I’s supporters are calling themselves ‘the cowboy army’ and that’s what it comes down to.

The rodeo star emphasized how far he’s come: “I started out the 13th best dancer and now I’m up to the fifth best dancer.”

By Carole Glines

Jewel Clears Up Melissa Rycroft Comments

May 1st, 2009

Tongues started wagging recently when Jewel posted her response to having a practice preformance scored on Dancing With the Stars. Melissa Rycroft and Steve-O were injured after practicing for the reality show.

 

On her hubby’s blog she posted: "As bad as I felt for Melissa, who I hope feels better and comes back, I’m used to our cowboy athletes that live by the rule: ‘ride hurt or don’t get a score. It may seem harsh, but it seems like the only way to keep things honest. If you’re too hurt to compete then you can’t compete. But if I were to be on the show I might change my mind. Hahah!"

 

Some took that as Jewel criticizing the contestants, but now the songstress has taken to her own personal blog to clear up her comments.

 

"I like Melissa and think she’s gifted (and a real Texas sweetheart), and I adore Steve-O. My comment had nothing to do with either of them. My comment was on a sports website about a rule I have never seen in any type of competition before. Name another sport where if you can’t compete, they use your score from practice. Can you imagine an Olympic diver who can’t compete for any reason, and so they let them use their practice dives from that day? Or a chess match, for that matter."

 

Jewel adds that even if her husband were to be injured after practice, she’d feel the same way.

 

"If Ty were in the same position, I’d still ask the same thing. I am not a mean-spirited person, and I think all my fans know that. Ty and I have fallen in love with all the contestants, and are in awe of how hard they all work. I can tell you that whoever wins this competition will have earned it, as I see firsthand how incredibly hard they all work. So please don’t believe what the gossip columns are trying to turn this into. This isn’t a catty girl versus girl thing they are trying to make it into- neither I nor Melissa are like that."

 

So, that’s that.

DWTS Watch: Chuck Wicks & Julianne Hough Go Bye-Bye

April 29th, 2009

Country singer Chuck Wicks was eliminated on Tuesday’s Dancing with the Stars with his real life girlfriend and dance partner Julianne Hough. Sadly, the couple had their last dance just as Chuck seemed to be hitting his stride. They’d scored a solid 26 for their cha cha cha Monday night, but it wasn’t enough to keep them in the competition.

Chuck scored in the bottom two with Bachelor babe Melissa Rycroft, who suffered complications from fractured ribs Monday night and had to be judged solely on videotape of her dress rehearsal. She and partner Tony Dovolani had the lowest score this week, a 21 for their jive, but survived.

“It was kind of strange,” Chuck said. “I felt like I was hitting my stride and right when I hit it is when I go home. At least we went out with great scores. I think we made it as far as we were supposed to make it.”

“We’re sad to leave but we had a great time while we were here,” Chuck told OK! after the show. “I had an amazing teacher in Julianne. Not only is she a great talent in anything she does but teaching your boyfriend is not the easiest thing. There were so many ups and downs throughout this process and the fact that our relationship was always up through all of that was a true testament to who we are as a couple. That’s the main thing about the competition for us is that we found out a lot about each other.”

Is a wedding next for the couple, who both are country singers? They danced to Beyonce’s "Put a Ring On It" Monday night. When Chuck was asked if he stopped and thought for a second of putting a real ring on Julianne’s finger, they both laughed, “no!”

They might not be quite ready to tie the knot yet, however, Julianne’s brother Derek Hough, who is dancing with Lil’ Kim this season, said he approves of Chuck. “I even told my dad, ‘Wait ‘til you see what your future son-in-law is wearing on TV tonight, and he’s like, what do you think about that, Derek?’ Actually, he’s a great guy. He’s funny, down-to-earth, and treats my sister good.”

Meanwhile, injured Melissa said her fans are “unbelievable. It’s hard to see sometimes where the votes are split and what’s going on and today it’s a very clear reminder just how much support we do have out there because mathematically, with Chuck and us up there, it should have been us and I think Chuck made a very good point — it just shows how much support there is and when you can actually see that it’s an amazing feeling and I think all we can do at this point is just thank everybody so much.”

The woman who won America’s heart when she was jilted on last season’s Bachelor said of her injury, “I’m absolutely better today. Yesterday I was keeled over backstage and so we’re finding things that are going to help manage that pain and help us move forward.”

Tony said people who voted for them, “saw how much we wanted to be on the floor last night and we couldn’t. We were backstage and she said to me, I’m sorry I let you down. I’m like, no, you did NOT let me down. You tried everything you could possibly do. Everything wants to say yes but if your body says no, there’s nothing you can do about it. I’m glad we’re getting a second chance.”

About the dress rehearsal footage, in which Melissa wore rolled up jeans and a black sports bra, Tony laughed, “My wife said it looked like a scene from Dirty Dancing, me teaching Baby. I thought her abs were rocking, actually!”

Melissa and Tony have to perform two dances next week, The Viennese Waltz and the samba, and she said, “Tony is very good at working around problems. We’ll either take it easy or work the choreography around it and we’ll be good."

The dance pro said, “this is where my teaching experience comes to hand. Yes, I’m the most mature guy on the show, which means I have a lot more experience as far as the situations I’ve dealt with. This is where my creativity comes in.”

By Carole Glines

DWTS Watch: Melissa Rycroft Injured, Does Not Perform

April 28th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

The most injury-filled season yet of Dancing with the Stars suffered another shocking setback on Monday night when the show’s front runner, jilted Bachelor beauty Melissa Rycroft, was hurt during rehearsal and diagnosed with a hairline fracture to her ribs!

Although a doctor cleared her to continue dancing, she couldn’t compete on Monday night and she and partner Tony Dovolani were judged on their dress rehearsal performance of the jive, earning a score of 21 out of 30.

After the show, Tony told OK!, “Melissa is resting right now and we’re hoping the audience pulls through for us. She’s going to be fine tomorrow. The treatment — it didn’t go quite as expected, so it affected her breathing a lot. And even though she was in complete pain — and she has a high threshold for pain — she still came in and tried to dance for me. A half hour before the show started, we were on the floor trying to dance and she just buckled because she couldn’t breathe. Fifteen seconds into the routine, I had to literally pick her up and take her to the red room and try to calm her down and get her to breathe again. My hat’s off to her. She’s such a trooper.”

Although Tony said he couldn’t offer details on Melissa’s medical treatment, he sighed, “It’s heartbreaking to see her go through that. I was fighting back tears all night tonight.”

Tony has had back luck this season. His original partner, Nancy O’Dell, suffered a torn meniscus in her knee during rehearsals before this season of DWTS even began, forcing her to withdraw and opening the door for Melissa to step into her dancing shoes.

However, Tony insisted, “I don’t think I’ve had bad luck. I’m a religious man so I never question God’s way. If God intends for me to go through this, that means that he knows that I’m the strongest person to go through this.”

And Tony is convinced Melissa will be back tomorrow night, raring to go. “Melissa looked at me and said, ‘I don’t care how much pain I’m in, I am going to go through this if the fans bring us back.’”

There could be a silver lining to this cloud for Melissa. Earlier this season, when an injured Steve-O was unable to compete live and was judged on his dress rehearsal, fans voted the Jackass star on to the next round.

This season has seen a rash of injuries. In addition to Nancy, original competitor Jewel also couldn’t start the show and had to be replaced by Holly Madison. Gilles Marini has complained of a separated shoulder and Steve Wozniak was hobbled by a foot injury.

During the drama Monday night, Lil Kim and her pro Derek Hough quietly earned the highest score of the night, a 28 for their paso doble.

“Derek and I are the leader of the pack, but it’s close,” she sighed with relief after the show. Lil Kim said she and Derek try to stretch before rehearsals to avoid injuries. “Sometimes we don’t get a chance to stretch if we have to jump right into it but I hate doing that — I like to stretch because even when I’m asleep at night, my body is settling into an intense knot,” the singer revealed.

Gilles, who got a strong 27 for his lindy hop with dancer Cheryl Burke, said, “Hopefully Melissa can keep going. She’s strong-minded. Melissa’s great to have in the competition for everyone.” Gilles says he’s been taking care of his own injured shoulder: “I got a cortisone shot in it Wednesday.”

Gymnast Shawn Johnson and her pro Mark Ballas tied Gilles and Cheryl for second place with a 27 for their samba. “I thought it went great. It was one of the more challenging dances for me. I struggled on it a bit this week but we nailed it today,” Shawn said.

The competitors did a team dance in which Chuck Wicks and Shawn’s Team Mambo squared off against Gilles, Ty Murray, and Lil Kim’s Team Tango. Pro dancer Lacey Schwimmer, who was eliminated with partner Steve-O earlier this season, stood in for Melissa Rycroft on Team Mambo. Although Team Tango got 28, besting Team Mambo’s 25, the latter got the biggest crowd reaction because Chuck, Mark Ballas, and Tony Dovolani became Men in Tights, wearing leotards at the end of the dance.

Country hunk Chuck and his girlfriend Julianne Hough continued to sizzle, getting a solid score of 26 for their cha cha cha. The pair finally seems to be both mastering the steps and capitalizing on their real life chemistry. “I feel sexy when I’m next to him,” Julianne smiled to OK! “He makes me feel like a woman because he’s such a man!” Chuck said of donning a leotard for the group dance, “It was hilarious. When you go that far over the edge with something, you already know what’s going to happen, so I was hoping nothing came out. It’s very frightening wearing something like that.”

Ty and partner Chelsie Hightower only got a 24 for their salsa, and judge Len Goodman bluntly said the rodeo champ should “hit the trail,” putting them in danger for Tuesday night’s elimination round.

But Ty shrugged, “We don’t waste any energy thinking about that or worrying about it or trying to second guess it. All we can control is how hard we practice.” And Ty was busy getting the ultimate DWTS experience this week, his first spray tan! “They had to put about 40 coats on me,” he chuckled. “I was so white I was blue. I wear a cowboy hat and a long-sleeved shirt every day, so I don’t sun tan.”

While Melissa is nursing her injury, the rodeo veteran said he knows how she feels: “I’ve had both my shoulders and both my knees completely reconstructed and I have a plate in my neck.” About judge Len, Ty asserted, “He’s like, what are you doing in my ballroom? But I feel like I’m getting along better in his world than he would be getting along in my world.”

By Carole Glines

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