DWTS Star’s Secret Feud With Palin’s Daughter!

During her time on “Dancing With the Stars,” Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, experienced a challenging relationship with one of the show’s professional dancers, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. This tension was revealed in a recent podcast appearance on Cheryl Burke’s “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans,” where Bristol discussed her time on the show and the unexpected hostility she felt from Maksim.

Bristol Palin, now 33, was candid when asked by Burke, “Who rolled their eyes at you and Mark [Ballas] during an elimination?” Without hesitation, Bristol responded, “Oh, Maks? He hated me so much.” This revelation surprised many, given Maksim’s generally professional demeanor on the show. When Burke pressed further, asking why he might have disliked her, Bristol speculated, “I don’t know, probably just because we kept going through.”

Reflecting on her time on the show, Bristol noted that Maksim was “real nice at the beginning” but that the atmosphere changed as the competition progressed. “I definitely felt the tension from him,” she admitted, adding, “I forgot about that.”

In response to these claims, a representative for Maksim Chmerkovskiy provided a statement to Newsweek, clarifying that “Maks doesn’t hate anybody.” The representative explained that Maksim, like many others, believed that he and his partner Brandy had a strong chance of winning or at least reaching the finals. Bristol Palin’s advancement to the finals over them was a disappointment, especially given Maksim’s competitive nature. “It’s a competition,” the statement read. “He’s very competitive and took it seriously.”

On the day of the podcast’s release, Maksim shared a video on Instagram, seemingly unrelated to the controversy, where he was seen playing a golf simulator game. He captioned the video “#therapy,” perhaps subtly addressing the recent media buzz.

Bristol Palin competed in Season 11 of “Dancing With the Stars” in 2010, where she and her partner, Mark Ballas, secured third place. Two years later, she returned for the “Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars” season, facing off against celebrities like Kirstie Alley, Apolo Anton Ohno, and Joey Fatone. Despite her efforts, Bristol was eliminated in the fourth week.

Bristol first stepped into the national spotlight in 2008 when her mother, Sarah Palin, was selected as the vice-presidential candidate alongside Senator John McCain. At the time, Bristol was a teenager and pregnant with her son, Tripp. Her political background and the drama surrounding her family often made her a polarizing figure on the show.

Despite receiving low scores on the dance floor, Bristol’s continued presence on the show drew both criticism and support. Former “Dancing With the Stars” host Tom Bergeron once remarked on the controversy, saying, “The complaining amuses me to no end. Whenever someone says that Bristol shouldn’t be there to me, I almost inevitably say, ‘Of course, you’re voting for…?’ And they go, ‘Yeah, I didn’t vote.’ I have no sympathy for people who are kvetching about who’s still there and who’s gone… If you want a technical dancer, watch PBS.”

Derek Hough, another professional dancer on the show, also defended Bristol during an interview with E! News. He acknowledged the challenges she faced due to the “Palin drama” but praised her resilience, saying, “Good for her, good for her to put herself out there because it’s really easy to kind of hibernate and just to disappear.”

Sarah Palin, never one to shy away from defending her family, also spoke out in support of her daughter during an interview with Barbara Walters in 2010. Addressing rumors that Bristol’s success on the show was due to her political connections, Sarah Palin said, “What do we do? Call every Tea Party person? I haven’t got the time. Bristol has the greatest work ethic of any person I know. I knew that she would do well.” She recounted a conversation with Bristol before she joined the show, where she advised her daughter, “Bristol, you know you’re going to open yourself up to criticism just because of your last name.” Bristol’s response was simple yet telling: “Mom, you know it doesn’t matter what I do. They’re going to criticize me, so I might as well dance.”

Bristol Palin’s journey on “Dancing With the Stars” was as much about proving herself as it was about dancing. Through the ups and downs, she remained steadfast, navigating the competition and the scrutiny that came with it, all while staying true to her values.