Las Vegas Weekly

March 23, 2009 · 7:26 PM

It’s tough going for injured DWTS contestants The Woz and Steve-O

By Robin Leach

Julianne Hough and Chuck Wicks on the March 16, 2009, episode of Dancing With the Stars.

Photo: ABC TV

Don’t read any further if you plan on watching the tape-delayed West Coast broadcast of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars and want nothing spoiled beforehand! But come back after the show to compare notes!

Bruised and battered -- but brave! That’s the only way to describe Jackass stuntman Steve-O who, despite serious injuries, decided to go ahead with a failed foxtrot on tonight’s Dancing With the Stars. It was obvious that he was dancing through the pain, but we’ll tell you how he fared with the judges a little later.

Instead, the latest victim of the injury curse was Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who pulled a hamstring and was hospitalized and in crutches. Incredibly, he decided to battle on with his desperate attempt at the samba with partner Karina Smirnoff, who is engaged to rival pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy. The judges showed no compassion, blasting it as the worst they’d seen, but the audience booed over their lowest-ever vote.

Holly Madison and partner Dmitry Chaplin looked as if they, too, might be in front of the firing squad. The judges heaped compliments on her being “hot on top” thanks to the sexy, short, sparkly red outfit she’d helped create for the show, but then said her footwork had gone cold. Click HERE for our Vegas DeLuxe interview with Holly and Dmitry posted this afternoon. The judges awarded them 17 points out of 30.

Our former Las Vegas Academy student Julianne Hough and boyfriend Chuck Wicks -- both country singers -- had a marked improvement over their disastrous performance a week ago. The judges were so impressed with their foxtrot, they picked up 23 points out of 30, but it wasn’t the high score of the night.

That went to Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Shawn Johnson with partner Mark Ballas for their foxtrot, Sex and the City hunk Gilles Marini and partner Cheryl Burke for their samba and jilted Bachelor star Melissa Rycroft and partner Tony Dovolani. The three teams all tied at 27 out of 30!

The judges weren’t at all kind to reality star and Vegas regular Denise Richards partnered with our Le Reve choreographer Maksim. Judge Bruno Tonioli blasted it as “falling as flat as a waffle,” and Carrie Ann Inaba said Denise looked frightened throughout the dance. They were awarded 16 out of 30.

So it came down to “The Woz” with the lowest score of the night at just 10 out of 30, and it looks as if our Vegas nightclub regular Steve-O will be battling him for survival tomorrow night with his score of only 15 out of 30! Valiant efforts by both, but show business is business, and the judges don’t figure injuries or put sympathy votes into the scoring. However, viewer voting might determine otherwise and keeps us watching!

Vegas DeLuxe will post tonight’s dance floor photos -- and Holly’s super sexy outfit -- tomorrow, along with a sneak peek at tomorrow night’s results show and the dance-off between the two couples facing elimination! Cloris Leachman will return to teach the Argentine tango and lindy hop, and Darryl Hall and John Oates and Best New Artist Grammy winner Adele provide the music for ABC’s hit show.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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