Already have an account?
Get back to the

Maksim Chmerkovskiy Won’t Perform on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Tonight After Calf Injury

Hanging up his dancing shoes … for the moment. Maksim Chmerkovskiy will not perform on the Monday, March 27, episode of Dancing With the Stars after hurting himself during rehearsals on Friday.

Related: Celebrity Health Scares

The ballroom champ’s upcoming absence was announced on Good Morning America this morning. Cameras caught Chmerkovskiy’s calf injury as he fell out of a spin with partner Heather Morris.

The dad of one, 37 — who welcomed son Shai with fiancée and fellow DWTS pro Peta Murgatroyd in January — cried out as he held onto his leg. “It’s my calf muscle,” he said. “It just felt like something hit it.”

Related: Check Out These Sexy, Shirtless 'DWTS' Hunks!

The severity of Chmerkovskiy’s injury is unknown, but ABC News reports that he will be cheering on 30-year-old Morris, a Glee alum and former Beyoncé backup dancer, from the audience. For the time being, she will be paired with troupe dancer Alan Bersten.

As viewers saw on the March 20 season 24 premiere of DWTS, Chmerkovskiy and Morris lit up the dance floor with a gorgeous waltz, which earned a combined score of 28. Afterward, the duo chatted with Us Weekly about their debut performance.

Related: Stars — They're Just Like Us!

“We had a very subdued dance, and we wanted to come out and feel it out and see what our partnership was going to be like and what our story’s going to be like. It’s very important how you start,” Chmerkovskiy told Us. “I’m not saying we were trying to take it easy and underperform, no, we did our best. This was kind of a crash course introduction to frame, posture, and all the heel leads, things that she’s unfamiliar with.”

Added Morris, “I really enjoyed myself! I felt like it was so interesting, the dynamic in the dressing room with everybody, just how supportive everybody was, and how welcoming everyone was to each other. Everyone was like, ‘Good job! You were so great,’ and I think that really fed the energy of tonight.”

Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.

In this article

Got a Tip form close button
Got a tip for US?
We're All Ears for Celebrity Buzz!