Comedian Margaret Cho was on Dancing with The Stars for all of three weeks this season. She had some awkward moments, including some very fug outfits and a propensity to pull ridiculous faces while she was dancing. She did show some improvement on the show, but was ultimately voted off third, after David Hasselhoff and Michael Bolton. Cho recently blogged about one of her fellow contestants who garnered a lot more attention and praise this season, Bristol Palin. Palin of course finished third overall in the competition, amid some controversy about her mother’s political influence. (I thought Bristol was a very likable go-getter this season, and that her personality and dancing improvement contributed much more to her success than any alleged voting scheme.)

Now Cho is claiming that Sarah Palin put Bristol up to doing the show, in an attempt to bolster her own political image by making her teen mom daughter less of a liability. Even if this is true, I don’t get why it took Cho so long to come out with this.

Everyone was trying to pit me against Bristol, but the truth is, we got along well. She never asked me to babysit Tripp or anything like that, but I consider her a friend. So what’s my take on her television debut? Well…

Why did Bristol do Dancing with the Stars? I heard from someone who really should know (really should seriously know the dirt really really) that the only reason Bristol was on the show was because Sarah Palin forced her to do it. Sarah supposedly blames Bristol harshly and openly (in the circles that I heard it from) for not winning the election, and so she told Bristol she “owed” it to her to do DWTS so that “America would fall in love with her again” and make it possible for Sarah Palin to run in 2012 with America behind her all the way. Instead of being supposedly “handicapped” by the presence of her teen mom daughter, now Bristol is going to be an “asset” – a celebrity beloved for her dancing. I am sure the show wasn’t in on this (but who knows anything really).

Although I don’t agree with the family’s politics at all, I really like Bristol as a person. She’s warm and incredibly supportive, and I think that she looks beautiful out on the dance floor. It’s heartbreaking that people are so awful to her about her weight. I think she looks fantastic, and why does everybody think they have a right to comment on our bodies? What are young girls going to take away from that? If people call her fat what kind of impact does that have on women who have similar body types – which is most of us??!! Still, it is a dance competition, and so I am sure that people feel they have the right to judge bodies and not just ability. That’s just wrong.

Bristol is learning. She improved a lot, in my opinion. Her tango was fierce and really the best dance she did. You really do learn to dance in this competition! I am proud of her for shaking her ass! But keep in mind there are other forces at work here and it’s not just for the love of dance.

[From Margaret Cho's blog via Huffington Post]

So was that like a backhanded compliment to Bristol? Something like “she’s a good dancer but her mom made her do it” and “she’s bigger than a dancer but she looks fantastic“? I get that there has been a lot of commentary on Bristol’s weight not going down significantly while she was on the show, but why even bring it up in this post? It sounds snarky even though Cho complimented her. Kaiser doesn’t agree with me though, and thinks that Cho is being very complimentary to Bristol while making it clear what she thinks about her mom. She didn’t get the same passive aggressive vibe from this story that I did.

Before Bristol went on DWTS, she did an interview on Leno and she seemed so happy with the prospect of going on the show. I doubt that Sarah Palin “forced” her daughter to do it, and it was ultimately a very good move for Bristol. Whatever Sarah’s political ambitions, to bring all that up only seems to detract from Bristol’s achievements. Yes a lot of people don’t like her mother, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t get to know her daughter on the show and root for her success, even if it was her mom’s idea as Cho claims. Maybe Cho agrees with me. That said, there are rumors that Todd Palin, Sarah’s husband, is going to be on DWTS next.

Margaret Cho is shown with her partner, Louis van Amstel, on 9/20/10 ahead of DWTS. Bristol and her partner, Mark Ballas, are shown outside of Good Morning America on 11/24/10. Credit: WENN.com

The finale of season 11 of Dancing with the Stars was billed as the most exciting and controversial ever. If you didn’t know that before watching it, hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke reminded the viewers how shocking the season was seemingly every 9 seconds.

In a finale stuffed with a lot of filler (at one point I walked away when David Hasselhoff was talking and came back a few minutes later to Florence Henderson dancing really poorly in a yellow turban), most of the season’s losing contestants came back, except Michael Bolton who was performing in London, and Audrina Patridge, who was reportedly sick, possibly suffering a bad case of SoreLoseritis.

The three finalists had two more dances to do for the judges’ scores. Half of the competitors’ final score comes from the judges and half comes from popular votes, which weren’t a factor in last night’s scoring. Only the judges’ scores counted, and Jennifer Grey led from start to finish.

Bristol Palin was the competitor who caused the most controversy, inspiring debate on her success all the way to the finals that was fueld solely by popular votes, because the judges’ scores put her at the bottom nearly every week. But fan votes couldn’t push her all the way to the mirror ball tropthy. She placed third, deservedly so. Her dance moves improved over the course of the season, and she loosened up a lot, but her performance just wasn’t mirror ball trophy material.

So then there were two: Jennifer Grey, who the judges drooled over most of the season, consistently giving her perfect 10 scores, and Kyle Massey, so full of energy and force of personality that overcame his sometimes technical problems.

After a really long suspenseful pause, Jennifer Grey was crowned the champion of Dancing with the Stars.

Jennifer’s win was deserved. She was the best dancer with a good attitude to match.

Kyle Massey has nothing to be ashamed of. If he’s smart, he can parlay his runner-up status into a much bigger career, either continuing with Disney or on his own.

What can I say about Bristol Palin that won’t be controversial? Nothing, so all I’ll say is TGIO, Thank Goodness It’s Over.

Photos via NYDN and thanks to ABC.

Last week’s shocking result on Dancing with the Stars has excited passionate responses from all over. A man in Wisconsin was arrested after shooting his television in anger over Bristol Palin’s performance, for goodness’ sake.

Now there’s a major feud spilling over between Bristol and ousted dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Maks is upset because he and his partner Brandy were voted off last week despite having higher judges’ scores than Bristol.

There are many theories about Bristol’s continued success.

One theory is that Bristol is being rewarded for her improvement throughout the course of the season, especially since she’s not a professional performer like Brandy is.

Despite criticism of her weight and her dancing, Bristol says her confidence is higher than ever.

I wasn’t very confident going into it. I wasn’t sure I could do it. But now I’m like, “Oh, you want me to do a paso doble? I’ll get out there and do it!” I feel so confident knowing I can do whatever I want! … I guarantee I’m the most-improved dancer on the entire show. I really do work my butt off — I’m in the studio all the time, and I’m so committed to this thing.

[In Touch, print edition, November 29, 2010]

On his blog, Maks disagrees that Bristol is the most improved.

I think under the given circumstance, if we went home because Brandy had more performing experience or America liked someone who improved, then Kyle should win. Jennifer has been a phenomenon from the beginning and while Bristol has improved, she hasn’t improved as much as Kyle and is not as good a dancer as either of them. Kyle has the full package. He has drastically improved since the beginning of the season, is a blast to watch and knows how to put on a show-stopping performance. He is a true entertainer. Of course, it comes down to the votes in the end.

[From TVGuide.com]

Another theory is that the Tea Party’s votes are keeping Bristol on the show despite being the weakest dancer.

Maks criticizes the popular vote.

Is the voting system flawed? If it is, what exactly can I do? I do care a lot about the show — I want that to be clear. I want dancing on TV. As long as people are dancing, let viewers see them dance. I’m just happing that this platform is represented. I believe the majority of people out there knows good dancing from bad. If one person goes on the show and stays on because of an obscene amount of fans, that’s on their conscience. People know what they see and no amount of votes can change that.

[From TVGuide.com]

But the claws really came out when Bristol was asked if some of the dancers have been mean to her.

Brandy’s partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, does not like me! He thinks I don’t deserve to be here because I’m not the best dancer, but this is what the show is all about — taking someone who has never performed, never danced, never done anything like that and turning them into a dancer and showing that process.

[In Touch, print edition, November 29, 2010]

In response, Maks calls Bristol a liar.

I was very disappointed, shocked and hurt to hear that Bristol told a magazine that I don’t like her. It’s a complete and absolute lie what she said. I have no idea where she got that from. I never ever said I don’t like her — nevermind the fact that it’s not true that I don’t like her. The only thing I’ve said about her is that I think she should embrace the show more when she got homesick — which is something I would say to every celebrity who comes on the show and has a low point midseason. I have nothing against Bristol, the Palins, politics, the tea party and whatnot. I respect what she’s done on the show and her place in the final.

[From TVGuide.com]

Win or lose, Bristol hopes girls learn a positive lesson from her appearance.

I’m probably the only girl on the show who needs wardrobe to help pull dresses over my butt. But I’m thankful I have a butt! I’m a regular-size girl, and I accept that. I’m comfortable in my own skin….The process has shown me — and hopefully other young girls out there — that you don’t have to be the sexiest one or wear sleazy outfits to do well.

[In Touch, print edition, November 29, 2010]

The finals of Dancing with the Stars begins Monday on ABC.

Maksim is shown on 8/29/10. Credit: Glenn Harris / PR Photos. Bristol is shown on 10/16/10. Credit: Carla Van Wagoner / PR Photos

Bristol Palin and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino have recorded a public service announcement for The Candies Foundation, which aims to prevent teen pregnancy. (Their website is vague as to whether they’re pro-abstinence or pro-protection, and they seem to advocate for both.) The video is cringe worthy on several levels and will do little to further the cause. It may help warn hapless young women not to hook up with loser douches like The Situation, and that’s worth something. It also might go far to help dilute The Situation’s already saturated brand, because the entire bit is a play off his lame moniker. At one point he tries to explain safe sex using his name as the only noun.

“Just in case you do get into a situation, I want to make sure you’re situated. Because if you do get into a situation with your situation, you may end up with a situation and you may not like that situation.”

In related news about the Palin family, Bristol and her little sister Willow, 16, got into a Facebook flamewar with someone who criticized her mom’s new reality show. TMZ has a PDF of the whole stupid thread if you’re interested. Willow started attacking the guy personally, called him fat and even calling him the anti-gay “F” word. I don’t have the patience to go through the whole thing and figure out who all the players are, but Bristol gets in on it too and goes after the guy and one of his buddies. For all you can say about this family, they sure stick together. It’s despicable that anyone is still using the “F” word though, that should have gone the way of the “N” word a long time ago. And a 16 year-old should know better.

Holy Hell! That’s all I can say about last night’s Dancing with the Stars results. Despite being at or near the bottom of the leaderboard for the entire season, Bristol Palin is one of the final three, while Brandy went home. It’s shocking, but it’s also sort of understandable. While Brandy is far and away the better dancer, she is also a professional performer. Bristol has had an incredible learning curve from Day One all the way to the finals. I think a lot of the viewers were rewarding Bristol for the improvement and the increased confidence she has shown throughout the season.

Kyle Massey is also in the finals. He has a ton of personality and being on this show is certainly going to jumpstart his career. He’s only 19 and there are already comparisons to Will Smith.

Jennifer Grey was a gimme. She scored 60 out of 60. The judges fawned over her so much it turned me off a little. I love an underdog, and Kyle is that underdog.

I’m not surprised Bristol is in the finals, but I thought it was going to be Brandy, Jennifer and Bristol.

An interesting fact from Monday’s show: both Brandy and Jennifer Grey were in car accidents in which the other drivers were killed. Brandy’s crash was in 2006, and she was reportedly not at fault. Jennifer’s was in Ireland in 1987 with then boyfriend Matthew Broderick. Both women talked about how the accidents affected them, but it seemed in bad taste to me to talk about the accidents on the show. No matter who was at fault, people died. I’m sure those people’s loved ones don’t feel any better knowing those car accidents made these celebrities strong enough to compete on a TV reality show.

OK, I know this is going to be controversial, but here goes: The Tea Party is voting for Bristol Palin. TV Guide reports that several Tea Party websites are encouraging people to vote for Bristol.

She’s well-liked on set, a hard worker and has earned high praise for holding her own as the only cast member without performing experience. But Palin, daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah, is also the only competitor tied to a media savvy politician who chosen Tea Party candidates made an impressive showing on Election Day. On websites such as MotivationTruth.com and Consevatives4Palin.com, they weren’t just stumping for politicians….But if Palin is getting a boost from conservatives for the second half of her scores, she’s not doing the stumping herself. “I have no idea if the Tea Party is voting for me,” she tells TV Guide Magazine. “I think people are voting for me because I’m a normal person, and they can see I’m improving.”

[TV Guide, print edition, November 15-21, 2010]

Both of the Tea Party websites listed in the TV Guide article are still including voting information for Bristol Palin on Dancing with the Stars.

I’m pretty amazed how quickly the show drew me in. Two weeks ago I’d have said I’d rather have chopsticks driven into my eyeballs than watch Dancing with the Stars. Last night, there I was cheering for Kyle.

The finals of Dancing with the Stars airs next Monday on ABC. Here are the performances from this week.

Bristol’s Paso Doble

Bristol’s Waltz

Jennifer Grey’s Waltz

Jennifer Grey Cha Cha Cha

Kyle Massey Samba

Kyle Massey Argentine Tango

Brandy Argentine Tango

Brandy Paso Doble

Admittedly, I have little knowledge of Dancing with the Stars. In fact, all I know I gleaned from the 3 hours I watched in the past 2 days. But seriously, Bristol Palin should have gone home.

Instead, former NFL Super Bowl MVP with seven kids Kurt Warner did the Dance of Shame and was sent packing.

Warner isn’t in the same league as Jennifer Grey and Brandy as far as musicality and he doesn’t have the charisma of Kyle Massey. In fact, everyone pretty much knew either Kurt or Bristol was going home last night. Of the two, Bristol looked the most uncomfortable during her dance. Kurt was consistent throughout his dance, while Bristol looked self-conscious at times, as if she realized she looked silly. That’s not a dis — I’m self-conscious like that. But watch Brandi’s commitment to emotion throughout her dances: she doesn’t feel silly and therefore looks great.

I don’t feel like recapping what the judges said about Kurt or Bristol, but suffice to say, Bristol was in last place after the judges’ votes. Therefore she must have received more popular votes from viewers to keep her on the show. How is this possible? One theory: the Tea Partiers are helping Bristol like they helped the Republicans win back control of the House of Representatives.

I think the final two will be Brandy and Jennifer, deservedly so, but I also suspect the popular votes will keep Bristol around at least another week and Kyle will go home next week, which is a shame, because he did a great job with the Insta-Dance jive and he has a great attitude and personality.

In other news, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who said bullying helped him become a success, continued being a bit of a douche-bag by screwing up his apology to the fans and contestants for bitching at Carrie Ann Inaba the night before. Maksim said he was going back to being cool, but then told Carrie-Ann, “Let’s do our jobs.” Host Tom Bergeron quipped, “So being cool lasted 12 seconds.”

The semi-finals of Dancing with the Stars airs Monday on ABC.

NOTE BY KAISER: Also interesting – Page Six has a story today about how Bristol and her dancing partner Mark Ballas are probably boning. Fascinating.

Some days I’m very thankful I don’t live for shows like Dancing With the Stars. I’m not trying to judge you people who do watch it regularly, or look forward to it. I get that you’re busy, and that you just want to watch something silly and mindless, perhaps with your family. And watching minor “celebrities” dance is probably one of the least offensive things to watch as a family. So in that instance, no judgment. But – sometimes I really wonder why people keep coming back week after week, month after month to a crap show like DWTS. Take Bristol Palin’s performance last night. It was… um… “TV Theme” night, and Bristol and her partner chose The Monkees. So they dressed up like gorillas. The performance begins around 1:40…

It’s just… embarrassing. I’m embarrassed for her. I’ll defend Bristol about some things, but this is not one of them. It’s not just the gorilla costume, it’s also that she’s a crappy dancer and she didn’t learn the moves. Ugh. Apparently, the judges hated it too, and she got the lowest score of the night. So she might be out this week. Oh, well. I guess she’ll just have to go back to her “full time job” as a dental hygienist. Remarkably, she was able to get time off to do DWTS…? Huh.

Remember how Bristol Palin broke up with Levi for the second time – after declaring her undying love and re-engagement – because he starred in a (terrible) music video that was a kind of parody of their relationship and her disapproving mother? Bristol said “The final straw was him flying to Hollywood for what he told me was to see some hunting show but come to find out it was that music video mocking my family. He’s just obsessed with the limelight and I got played.” Then Bristol went on Dancing with The Stars because they asked her and all. Well fast forward a whole two months and Bristol is in a music video too. Now who’s obsessed with the limelight again?

Bristol stars in a video for an Alaskan hard rock band called Static Cycle in what she says is a “mother nature” role. She’s wearing a mink hat and mink coat while clutching a rose under glass. ET Online has segments from the video and some comments from Bristol. Here’s more:

Just days after Levi Johnston’s provocative music video appearance hit the web, ET has an inside look into his ex fiance Bristol Palin’s hard rock cameo.

“I think my role is like a mother nature role,” Bristol, daughter to former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, told ET. “I wore a mink coat. … My eyebrows were all iced and my eyelashes were all iced.”

The video was for Alaskan rock band Static Cycle and was filmed in Chena, Alaska, predominantly set in an ice hotel.

[From ET Online via Celebuzz]

I hope PETA puts her in their crosshairs for that fur getup. I usually root for Bristol, and she seems to be genuinely trying on DWTS, but she just bashed Levi for cashing in on “the limelight” and she’s been doing the exact same thing. Maybe she thinks it doesn’t count in her case, or that she was helping out a local band, but I bet she got paid for this, just like she got paid $14k to speak at a pro-life event recently. It’s easy to bash an ex for seeking publicity, but it’s easier to sit back and take the money when you get offered a cushy gig.

Jennifer Grey & Derek Hough – Jive. Dancing is at 2:00

Sarah Palin was in the front row on Dancing With The Stars this week, where her 19 year-old daughter, Bristol, has been holding her own despite claiming she couldn’t dance ahead of last week’s premiere. Sarah was interviewed by host Tom Bergeron (E! has the video) and she seemed really excited to be there, saying “it’s great to see all this courage and joy and exuberance by every dancer, it’s awesome.” When asked how she felt about the judges, she demured “it’s like before a hockey game. You’re not going to chew out the refs before your team is up… you guys are doing great.” Sarah said she was rooting for “Bristol the pistol,” but that all of the dancers were “amazing”.

I’m not a fan of Sarah Palin’s, but her daughter is doing a great job on Dancing With the Stars and of course she’s going to be there to cheer for her. She’s a public personality so she’s going to be interviewed, too. It seems a little hypocritical of the Palins to blast Levi Johnston for seeking fame while Bristol goes on DWTS, but can you blame her? Who wouldn’t want to step in her (dance) shoes? I know I would be on that show in a heartbeat if I was in her position. She can really dance and it’s clear her mom is so proud and happy to support her.

As for this week’s performances, Jennifer Grey owned it yet again this week, with Audrina Patridge coming in second with another solid performance. E! Online has a very good recap if you’re interested and all of the video performances are either linked or shown below. Everyone’s skills were pretty impressive, apart from Michael Bolton who is still clearly struggling. Margaret Cho did pretty well compared to last week, but she needs to work on her facial expressions, which are ridiculous. She’s either sneering or looking elated. It looks like The Situation is hanging in there and is continuing to do well. Bristol did a great job, but she had these weird head bump moves with her partner that seemed awkward. I have to agree with her mom. It’s obvious everyone is giving it their all and you can feel their dedication and excitement. The show is excellent this season!

The Situation and Karina Smirnoff – Quickstep
Kurt Warner & Anna Trebunskaya – Jive
Kyle Massey & Lacey Schwimmer – Quickstep
Margaret Cho & Louis van Amstel – Jive
Brandy & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Jive
Michael Bolton & Chelsie Hightower – Jive
Florence Henderson & Corky Ballas – Quickstep
Rick Fox & Cheryl Burke – Jive

Here are the top rated performances, other than Jennifer Gray. (She came in first and her video is at the top)

Audrina Patridge & Tony Dovolani – Quickstep (Dancing is at 2:15)

Bristol Palin & Mark Ballas – Quickstep

Kyle Massey & Lacey Schwimmer – Quickstep (Dancing is at 2:00)

Bristol Palin is all over the place after her successful first week on Dancing With The Stars. She’s determined to make a media career for herself and it looks like she’s headed there. In Touch has a new interview with Bristol in which she asserts that she’s a good mom and is spending plenty of time with her 21 month old son, Tripp, while she’s training for DWTS. She tells some cute stories about the things that Tripp does and says that she would love to continue her (well paid) public speaking gigs as well as “‘Host something, or do correspondent work’ like Giuliana Rancic.” As for her speaking career she says that “it would be awesome if I could make a career out of it. It’s fulfilling because I’m sharing my testimony, and I love doing that. If I can get one girl to wait to have sex, then this is worth it.” Bristol commands up to $30,000 a speech and reportedly made $14,000 for speaking at a pro-life charity event recently.

Meanwhile Star has some smack talk from Mercede Johnston, the sister of Bristol’s ex, Levi Johnston. Mercede claims that Bristol has had a breast reduction and liposuction, but the evidence she has is just hearsay and the fact that Bristol didn’t want to visit with Levi’s family at Christmas.

“She wants to look like the ideal Hollywood girl,” Mercede Johnston, the sister of Bristol’s ex-fiance, Levi Johnston, tells Star exclusively about Bristol’s body makeover. “I know in time she will get even more done.”

New York-based plastic surgeon Dr. Steve Fallek tells Star that it appears Bristol, 19, has reduced her breast size from a D cup to a B, which will make gliding around the dance floor much easier. “Reductions lessen pain and strain on the back,” says Dr. Fallek, who has not treated Bristol.

Taking her breast size down two cups isn’t the only tweaking Bristol has done, according to Mercede. She’s had liposuction twice – once in December 2007, the other just before her short-lived reunion with Levi in July. The first time, Mercede explains, “She wouldn’t come inside our house to open Christmas gifts my family got her and wouldn’t let anyone but Levi see her, so he brought the gifts to her car. Levi told us she wouldn’t come in because she had a zit. After we kept asking questions, he finally gave in and said she got surgery.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, October 4, 2010]

The before and after photos that Star uses to show that Bristol had a breast reduction are from the early stages of her pregnancy vs. now, so of course her chest is going to look smaller. Bristol works as an office manager at a dermatologist’s office and it’s possible she has easy access to liposuction and other procedures. This just sounds like sour grapes from Levi’s family, though. There’s a long standing feud between the Johnstons and Palins and I wouldn’t put it past either side to make stuff up to earn money from the tabloids.

Whether Bristol got lipo and a breast reduction or not, she claims she’s not going to show too much of her body on Dancing With the Stars. She tells In Touch she’s not going to show her stomach in any skimpy outfits and that “I’m a mom, I don’t want to be out there in a bikini.” She hopes to lose weight on the show, and adds “I haven’t had time to work out in the past year, but I want to get back to where I was right after I had Tripp.” It’s nice that she said she wanted to get back to where she was after she had her baby. That happened to me too, I lost a lot at first after I had my son and then gained some back.

I could not find any photos that make it look like Bristol had a breast reduction at all. Here’s a side by side of her in May, 2009 (black shirt) vs. May, 2010 and I don’t see any difference. It’s clear that she’s ready for Hollywood though, plastic surgery or not.

Bristol is shown on 9/20 at the DWTS premiere with her partner, Mark Ballas. Credit: WENN.com