Michael Bolton isn't leaving Dancing with the Stars quietly.
ADVERTISEMENT
|
"Of course I was disappointed with Bruno," Bolton told 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.
"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."
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."
FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!
Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!
However Bolton still proceeded to slam Tonioli's comments 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 Good Morning America 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.
About The Author: Steven Rogers