Jewel Two-Steps Back From DWTS Catfight

Singer apologizes for criticizing show's policy allowing injured dancers to be scored on rehearsal footage; says words were "mangled"

The most dangerous injury of all has occurred on Dancing With the Stars—someone's ego has been bruised.

Jewel, who has spent the season playing courtside cheerleader to hubby Ty Murray after an early injury forced her to bow out of the reality competition, is doing some damage control on her blog after publicly condemning the show's rules loophole allowing injured contestants to carry on competing without actually dancing.

Prior to Tuesday's results show, Jewel posted a blog on the Professional Bull Riders website, which showed up on her hubby's MySpace page the following day, criticizing producers for permitting injured competitors Melissa Rycroft and Steve-O to be judged on their rehearsal footage. Jewel proclaimed that it "was weird both times they have used it."

"As bad as I felt for Melissa, who I hope feels better and comes back, I'm used to our cowboy athletes...If you're too hurt to compete then you can't compete."

Today, however, the singer-songwriter was quick to backtrack from any perceived criticism of Rycroft, whose injury kept her from performing live this week but who nonetheless tallied enough viewer votes to continue, or the Jackass star, who sat out earlier this season after finding his vertebrae on the wrong end of a mic pack.

"I can't believe my comment on Ty's website got so mangled—and now gossip columns hijacked it and put words in my mouth!" Jewel wrote on her official blog.

"I like Melissa and think she's gifted (and a real Texas sweetheart), and I adore Steve-O. My comment had nothing to do with either of them. My comment was on a sports website about a rule I have never seen in any type of competition before.

"Can you imagine an Olympic diver who can't compete for any reason, and so they let them use their practice dives from that day? Or a chess match, for that matter. If Ty were in the same position, I'd still ask the same thing."

Determined to cut off any hint of a brewing catfight, she adds that she is "not a mean-spirited person," and that both she and Murray have "fallen in love with all the contestants, and are in awe of how hard they all work."

"So please don't believe what the gossip columns are trying to turn this into. This isn't a catty girl versus girl thing they are trying to make it into—neither I nor Melissa are like that."

(Originally published May 1, 2009, at 2:11 p.m. PT)

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