Maksim Chmerkovskiy Explains Why He's Not Returning to Dancing With the Stars

Dancer plans "to dive into producing and acting, while fulfilling my sponsorship obligations"

By Rebecca Macatee Feb 26, 2013 3:15 PMTags
Maksim Chmerkovskiy Michael Simon

Season 16's cast of Dancing with the Stars was announced Tuesday morning, and Maksim Chmerkovskiy's name was noticeably absent from the pro partners' list.

But the 33-year-old Ukrainian hunk has no bad blood toward the ABC show. In fact, he released a statement clearing up any of the rumors about why he isn't returning to DWTS.

"I just want to set the record straight to all of my amazing fans that I will unfortunately not be returning for this season of Dancing with the Stars," he said. "I've been a Pro dancer on the show for about seven years now and am eager to explore other opportunities that have been made possible because of Dancing with the Stars. 

"I'm going to take this time to dive into producing and acting, while fulfilling my sponsorship obligations," Maksim added. "A big thank you to all of my fans for your never-ending support. I also want to thank the entire cast and production of Dancing with the Stars."

Well, though we'll certainly miss seeing him on the dance floor, we're excited to see what Maksim does next!