Maksim Chmerkovskiy -- 'Dancing with the Stars' Exaggerated Melissa Gilbert's Injuries
Maksim Chmerkovskiy 'Dancing' Exaggerated Melissa's Injuries for Ratings
"Dancing with the Stars" pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy -- who was with Melissa Gilbert when she hit her head on the show yesterday -- is strongly insinuating ... "Dancing" producers conspired to overstate the actress' injuries to drum up ratings.
"Dancing" host Tom Bergeron announced at the end of yesterday's show -- Melissa had injured herself during her and Maks' Paso Doble routine (below) ... and was rushed to a nearby hospital.
Melissa later announced on her Twitter she had sustained whiplash and a mild concussion during the performance -- but Maks tells us a different story ... insisting the actress just "bumped her head."
We asked if "Dancing" producers tend to play up celebrity injuries on the show for ratings -- and Maks responded ... they don't fake it ... but they "amplify it a little bit."