Dancing with the Stars professional dancer Karina Smirnoff will soon be leaving nothing up to the imagination.
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"The May issue of Playboy is unforgettable with Dancing With The Stars' Karina Smirnoff on the cover and nude inside," Hugh Hefner, Playboy's founder and editor-in-chief, announced on Twitter Wednesday.
However, according to a subsequent report, the decision to pose nude in Playboy may cost Smirnoff -- who has participated in 9 of the ABC reality competition's 12 seasons -- her Dancing with the Stars job.
"If Karina posed naked, she can kiss her dancing days goodbye. I hope for Karina's sake that this isn't true," a source told PopEater, adding that discussion over her appearance in the magazine has been "causing people backstage at the hit family show to freak out."
While Smirnoff's representative and ABC declined to comment, an insider told PopEater they are concerned the Playboy appearance will "soil" the Dancing with the Stars' wholesome image.
"ABC publicity department controls the image of this show with an iron fist. It's a cash cow and they are not going to allow its reputation to be soiled by a dancer who wants to do Playboy," a source said.
In addition to rubbing the network the wrong way, Smirnoff also reportedly violated the terms of her contract by modeling for Playboy without receiving permission from her bosses.
Ironically, Smirnoff isn't the only twelfth-season Dancing with the Stars cast member with Playboy ties. Kendra and former The Girls Next Door star Kendra Wilkinson -- who posed nude in Playboy and lived in the Playboy mansion as one of Hefner's girlfriends -- is also among the celebrities competing on the season.
Hefner has been spotted in the Dancing with the Stars audience supporting Wilkinson, but according to PopEater, he has also been rooting for Smirnoff.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
