"Should've been all 10s": Pro Maks Chmerkovskiy shares his take on Elaine Hendrix's Wicker Night act

Dancing with the Stars pro Maksim “Maks” Chmerkovskiy recently shared his opinion on season 34 star Elaine Hendrix’s Wicked Night performance on the October 21, 2025, episode. 

In the October 24 episode of The Penthouse with Peta podcast, Maks commented on each of the participants’ Wicked Night acts, disagreeing with the score Elaine received from the judges. 

“Should've been all 10s,” he remarked. 

Elaine and her pro partner Alan Bersten presented a contemporary routine to Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s Defying Gravity and secured a nine each from the four panelists, which brought her total to 36 out of 40 points. 

However, Maks believed she deserved a perfect score.

According to him, the only reason why the judges refrained from giving her 10s was that the “second half of the number was completely gone.”

Maks firmly believed that had Elaine and Alan continued to dance on the floor, rather than Elaine doing a presentation by “flowing in the sky” toward the end of her act, she would have gotten a perfect score. 

As for Maks, he admitted that with those small changes, he would have given her a standing ovation as well as a 10.

Dancing with the Stars professional Maks Chmerkovskiy praises Elaine’s dancing skills

According to Maks, the Parent Trap star was “unbelievable” on the dance floor, which his wife, Peta, agreed with.

Although he commended Alan for pushing Elaine to perform difficult routines every week, Maks credited Elaine for how far she had come on the show.

“She is amazing,” he expressed.

Maks opined that none of the other celebrities with a similar background as Elaine, who had participated in the show before, would be as “brave” as she was during her Wicked Night act. 

He was equally impressed by Elaine’s stance and her physicality.

While her performances were technically sound, Maks believed that the only reason others rated Whitney’s act above Elaine’s was that they just compared dance routines. 

However, he wanted viewers to take note of the age difference between the two participants. While Elaine is 54, Whitney is 32. 

Peta chimed in, saying:

“She’s [Elaine’s] not a regular 54-year-old woman. She’s insanely good.”

She added that Elaine’s performance made her emotional because she had not expected her to deliver “all the elements,” including skills and emotions. 

Maks then noted that he was so disappointed with the closing move of Elaine’s act that he would have given it an eight if he were a panelist, even though he believed the routine deserved a perfect score. 

It was Maks’s only criticism of her act, which he believed was the reason why the judges also did not give her a 10. 

“She’s not a singer. We’re not doing a singing contest,” he added.

Peta agreed, saying the act was worthy of a perfect score. However, at the same time, she could not deny Elaine’s skills.

The Dancing with the Stars professional noted that Elaine did not have to force anything and that dancing came “so effortlessly” to her.

Maks believed Elaine “was going for it,” which was the reason why she stood out in every single act.

He declared that he was a “huge fan” of hers and also commended Alan for showcasing her talent every week. 

In the coming week, the contestants will return to the ballroom for Halloween Night, with Cheryl Burke serving as the guest judge. 

Stay tuned for more updates.