Another Star Exits The Ballroom; Maks Apologizes To The Fans

“Dancing with the Stars” is heading to the semifinals next week, but one more competitor won’t be along for the ride.

He may have a Super Bowl ring, but former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner won’t be getting the chance to add a mirrorball to his trophy case after he was eliminated on Tuesday’s show.

Kurt’s elimination takes redheaded dancing powerhouse Anna Trebunskaya out of the competition too.

“I learned a long time ago that life isn’t about winning and losing competitions, but it’s about relationships, it’s about impacting the people and so I thank everybody at ‘Dancing with the Stars’ because it gave me an opportunity to impact people and build relationships and that’s really what it’s all about,” Kurt said before thanking his family and Anna.

Judge Bruno Tonioli called the departing Kurt “a real gentleman,” and added, “You really are an American idol.” The crowd also chanted “MVP.”

Kurt’s ticket home came one night after the former NFL star expressed his disappointment at earning solid 8s from the judges for both of his dances with Anna. On Tuesday, Kurt said he was able to look past the scores though, and find joy in performing.

”[It was a] little bit frustrating with the scores, but the great thing is, is that I know on this show I’m not gonna be the best dancer so my goal is to entertain the audience, entertain those people at home,” he told show co-host Brooke Burke backstage. “So it feels good when you have the crowd behind you.”

Despite his departure, Kurt didn’t net the lowest score on Monday night’s show.

Bristol Palin, who advances to the semi-finals with partner Mark Ballas, landed at the bottom of the leaderboard on Monday evening, her second time in a row, and third time in total.

While “Dancing” said goodbye to Kurt, fans of the show received an apology from Brandy’s partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who said he was sorry for sparring with judge Carrie Ann Inaba after she criticized the pair for not starting their “instant” dance on Monday, instantly.

“I’d like to apologize to the fans,” Maks said when Brooke asked if he thought talking back to Carrie Ann affected their viewer votes. “It’s not the drama that they want to see. They want to see beautiful performances and all the stars performed amazing last night, so you know, I’m sorry and I lost my cool a little bit, so I’m gonna go back to being cool.”

Carrie Ann also offered words to Maks and the other dancers over the Monday night, headline-raising incident, later in the evening.

“You know, Maks I just want to say something, first of all, to all the dancers, I’ve always respected all of you: Mark, Derek, Maks, Anna, Lacey, Cheryl, all of them. I’ve always respected all of you, so I hope that you will let it go,” Carrie Ann said.

Maks, who was not on a microphone at the time, tried to say something back, but it was inaudible. Also, his partner, Brandy, quickly covered his mouth.

“Dancing” returns with its semi-final round next week.