Dancing with the Stars producers have rejected Michael Bolton's request that judge Bruno Tonioli publicly apologize and be reprimanded for his Monday night comments in which he deemed the jive routine Bolton and professional partner Chelsie Hightower performed to be "probably the worst jive" in the ABC ballroom dancing competition's 11 seasons.

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"Bruno's role as a judge is to give his honest opinions on the quality of the dances he's judging, which is what he did in this case," the producers said in a media statement released Wednesday.

"While we respect the feelings of our celebrities and dancers, we don't feel Bruno should be expected to apologize for doing his job."

The 57-year-old singer had asked for the public apology and reprimand during a brief interview with ABC's Good Morning America after he and Hightower became the second couple eliminated from Dancing with the Stars' eleventh season on Tuesday night's live results show. 

"Of course I was disappointed with Bruno," Bolton told GMA.  "I just didn't expect that level of disrespect from him... just the tone of it.  You heard the tone of it.  Even Len stopped him and said 'That's inappropriate.'  I think he should apologize publicly and should be reprimanded for it."

"He just, to me, let everyone down.  My mom was there -- she flew in, she's 90 -- and she came to see the show and I thought she was really going to enjoy it."

Some of Dancing with the Stars' other professional dancers had also voiced their support for Bolton, who reportedly skipped the show's usual post-elimination interviews with media outlets due to a show in Napa, CA.

"I was glad Michael said his piece like that, because no one should have to take that kind of beating," Mark Ballas told People after the results show.  "If you don't think we did great, fine -- but give us some constructive feedback so we can walk away and work on it. Don't just drag me through a hedge backwards and then carry me to the ground."

"What I love is that Michael stood up for himself and said how disrespectful it was," Louis van Amstel added.

Bolton and Hightower -- who had finished in ninth place on the competition's first-week leaderboard -- had finished last on Monday night's judging leaderboard after their jive routine received only 12 out of 30 possible points from Dancing with the Stars judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Tonioli.

Bolton and Hightower were subsequently ousted from the competition based on the combination of the Dancing with the Stars judges' scores they received during Monday night's performance show and the home viewer votes that were cast afterwards.

All three judges had been critical of the performance, which featured the couple dancing to Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" and began with Bolton emerging from a doghouse on all fours as Hightower waved a dog bone -- which the singer later put in his mouth -- in front of him.

While Goodman began the judges' harsh critique by saying he didn't think "the world is ready for your interpretation of the jive" and suggesting the couple should have also included a "pooper scooper" in the performance, Tonioli managed to draw the ire of both Bolton and Goodman when he proceeded to say the jive routine was possibly the worst in Dancing with the Stars history. 

"No, that's not true.  That's unkind and unfair," Goodman immediately insisted.

However Tonioli -- who had awarded Bolton and Hightower only 3 out of 10 points for their jive, compared to Goodman and Inaba's respective 5 and 4 scores  -- had continued to stand by his comments.

"I think Rin Tin Tin would have done a better jive," Tonioli said prior to Bolton and Hightower's elimination on Tuesday night's results show.

"[Bolton's] a fantastic singer, he's a wonderful person -- it's nothing personal.  But I'm here to call it as I see it, that's my job."

Bolton then proceeded to slam Tonioli later in Tuesday night's broadcast.

"I think Bruno was inappropriate and disrespectful.  Other than that, it was a phenomenal, phenomenal experience up to now and I'm ready for the next one," he said prior to the announcement of his elimination.

Bolton also defended his awkward use of dog props during his GMA interview.

"I did the doghouse thing in a second and I thought it was hilarious. It was funny and it was me having fun with myself," he said.
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