comScore
  1. Mediaite
  2. Gossip Cop
  3. Geekosystem
  4. Styleite
  5. SportsGrid
  6. The Mary Sue
  7. The Jane Dough
  8. The Braiser

Busting bad dish!

Hot Topics Jennifer Lawrence Kim Kardashian Rihanna Robert Pattinson Beyonce Justin Bieber Kristen Stewart

Hope Solo Accuses Maksim Chmerkovskiy of Slapping Her, DWTS Star Responds

11:35 am, August 17th, 2012

(GettyImages.com)

Hope Solo says her time on “Dancing with the Stars” with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy was far more contentious — and violent — than the cameras let on.

In her new memoir, Solo: A Memoir of Hope, the Olympian accuses the pro dancer, whom she often clashed with on-screen, of slapping her face “hard” during a rehearsal last fall.

Solo also claims Chmerkovskiy “manhandled me in rehearsals from the start, pushing me, whacking my stomach, bending my arms roughly.”

“I thought that was just how it went – how dancers worked with each other,” she writes, “But it kept getting worse.”

The soccer star recounts another alleged incident in which “Maks was trying to put me in a certain position and hit my stomach so hard with his open palm that I had a red handprint there for the rest of the day.”

Solo alleges producers and ABC were aware of the issues between her and Chmerkovskiy, and even offered to let her change partners, but she declined, she says, because “I didn’t want to end Maks’s career.”

RELATED – Maksim Chmerkovskiy Fights with “DWTS” Judge Over Harsh Criticism of Hope Solo Dance

Chmerkovskiy, however, is challenging Solo’s claims.

“Always hated hypocrites and liars… but when someone is both AND an opportunist, I just feel bad for them,” he tweeted on Thursday, adding, “Can’t win at someone’s expense.”

He later wrote, “Life’s best lessons are the ones that you smile through…..while they hurt you the most! I’m bullet proof….FIRE AWAY!”

It’s worth noting that Solo and Chmerkovskiy have reportedly hung out together since her stint on “DWTS” ended, and last month she even reportedly offered him Olympics tickets.

Additionally, he congratulated Solo on Twitter on her most recent gold-medal win.

A rep for Chmerkovskiy declined to comment, but Solo appears to be standing by her comments, telling “SportsCenter,” “I speak the truth.”

What do you think of Solo’s allegations?

Follow @GossipCop on Twitter!

Like us on Facebook!

You might like:


  • Lori

    I don’t believe this for one minute. Maks can be a bit of a ass, but she was a TOTAL biotch through the entire show. Her attitude was terrible, and she clearly does not take criticism well. I think she is playing the victim here, to save face for being a terrible dancer and an all-around jerk.

  • …

    What a b****. They’ve been buddy-buddy on Twitter (& presumably, in real life, as tweets attest) regularly since the show. If something serious happened that bothered her that much, she wouldn’t keep in touch as closely as she has. Dance instructors are a bit rough- I was a professional ballerina, so I know- but I doubt anything was to abusive levels or to be rougher than necessary/normal. She didn’t seem like a pleasant person on the show. I like Maksim’s comment about her being an “opportunist.” Boy, preach!

  • anon

    scorned woman… I think Maks gets a little tap happy but right out slap nope.. SOLO wanted a relationship & tame Maks.. didn’t happen

  • Jeah

    I still can’t understand how this woman gets any positive press. Since her college days she has belittled team and always put herself first. This is a huge no-no in a team sport. She openly badmouthed her coach and friend/starting goalkeeper Briana Scurry after things did not go her way. She went on DWTS and her awful personality shined through there as well. She should be ashamed of herself with this book as it capitalizes on others to make a buck. She’ll say anything to make $$ and I’m convinced she doesn’t know the difference between truth and a lie.

  • Fame

    Let’s see, first she complains about everything, then she complains about the commentator at the Olympics and now this? I think someone has a few mental issues.

  • Pjl

    I think she has a few screws loose. There a so many dancers, I don’t think ABC would keep Max on the show if they knew that was going on, they don’t want a lawsuit. Look at her eyes, that’s where you can tell the crazy in someone. My sister and I always thought she had the crazy eyes.

  • catca

    I don’t watch the show so I have no idea what either she or Maks is like. BUT, I can spot inconsistencies in statements. Why would changing partners end Maks’ career causing her to decline to do so, but making public accusations of abuse that she can personally profit from won’t end his career? Whether what she said was true or not, the manner she has chosen to handle the situation IS opportunistic. I also doubt ABC would keep the guy for so many seasons if this was the case considering abuse to the level she’s indicating is a crime and with it all on camera ABC would be very vulnerable to lawsuits. This is extremely unlikely to be true.

  • Anonymous

    I don’t particularly care for Maks, but I can easily spot a liar. If things got that bad, why didn’t she quit or change dancers like she alleges the producers asked her to do? That right there shows nothing extreme happened in practice. Had he really been abusive, she would have quit and told the reason why she left the show. I wouldn’t stay anywhere knowing I was being treated unfairly. I’d stay far away if I was Maks, she seems a bit off. He’s right, she’s an opportunist & is only looking for attention.

  • Brenda

    Well, I don’t even need to add my 1 cents worth, only to add that I totally agree with all the above. The one thing that bothers me about this story is that it gives her publicity fo her book and some peoples curiosity will sell a few books. I certainly respect the way Maks has handled this. She could never say anything to make me not enjoy watching him ‘move’.

  • Fjlkfjalj

    yea i dunno because remember when maks was with brandy and they had problems?? didn’t he get a little violent with her too??

  • http://twitter.com/BobbiNJ Bobbi

    If ABC was aware that Maks or any of their other pros physically assaulted one of the contestants, the pro would be gone. That simple. The potential liability simply isn’t worth it to them.

    I think she’s lying through her teeth.

  • http://twitter.com/amazeofgrace72 D

    yeah, I have never like Hope Solo, she’s always come across as spoiled and unstable and this just proves it, sad sad sad

  • Biotch1978

    Maks is tough on his partners but seems to stay close with most of them after the show.They have hung out and always send eachother tweets.If this really happened she wouldn’t have been publicly kissing his ass on twitter.None of this makes any sense.She had such a bad attitude on DWTS and with Maks just like she does in her own sport.He is right she is an opportunist just trying to sell her shitty book.

  • Lola

    I do not particularly like either Maks or Hope but I can kinda seem some truth to her statements. Based on how he has behaved with other “stars” I mean was he the one who used spanking Brandi”s arse as a training technique? He doesn’t particularly have a great teaching style he seems to get aggravated when someone can’t cope with the choreography. Personally, I would be in tears all the time if I had someone yelling and screaming the way that he does. He didn’t particularly treat Melissa Gilbert nicely when she hurt herself, he just comes across as an arse every season. I didn’t particularly like Hope’s personality either but of course Maks is going to deny this happened, no abusive man likes to admit that they are abusive.

  • Anonymous

    I believe Hope is telling the truth despite being a Maks fan. If you look at the video below at the 1:30 mark, you can see him shoving her in front of others during rehearsals.

    It definitely makes it possible he hit her in private. Plus Maksim and his publicist have yet to deny this on the record. Neither has ABC.

    http://youtu.be/he_BsbfuXZs?t=1m30s

  • Anonymous

    hopo solo is fame ho and a bich. i don’t believe anything she says.

  • Jasonsmom285

    I think that was time he slapped her on the rear and some comments were made about it, the judges said something (Carrie Ann) and some of the press. But it was just to get her going, she didn’t seem to mind and some people said they’d love Maks to smack them on the butt, it was joked about, no big deal.

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/cyk9xz2

  • Mr Sir

    She is out promoting her book and decided to really get noticed and say some sh*t. Attention whore.

  • Rafael Ramirez

    Who is excited about the So You Think You Can Dance tour that’s happening this fall? I personally can’t wait to see Eliana and Cyrus perform on it, they were my favorites this season. Check out this video for more info on the tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdV2z0BtAfo&feature=youtu.be

Abrams Media Network click here for advertising opportunities
X