Dancing with the Stars

Nick Carter's partner on "Dancing with the Stars" says him being accused of rape doesn't sound like the guy she knew ... 'cause he was a class act on the show.

Pro dancer Sharna Burgess posted a couple videos Saturday defending Nick after Melissa Schuman recently said he raped her in 2002, a claim he's denied.

Sharna says Nick was one of the most respectful partners she's had -- going so far as to say he never lashed out at anyone, even during the most tense times in their season ... which is apparently worthy of praise. She prefaced her clips by saying she isn't victim shaming.

While she might not be doing that per se, Sharna's definitely giving Nick a ringing endorsement here. That second place win in 2015 seems to have gone a long way.

Kobe Bryant ... in the ballroom?? Maybe.

With "Dancing with the Stars" doing a full sports-themed competition with athletes next season, Derek Fisher told TooFab.com "Kobe's name keeps coming up."

"He loves the show. He and the family watch it," Fisher said ... "[Producers] should at least try and call him!"

Fisher competed on the show this season and loved it -- despite being the 3rd couple eliminated.

Athletes tend to kill it on the show -- with NFL stars like Emmitt Smith, Hines Ward, Donald Driver and Rashad Jennings all winning dancing championships.

While Chad Ochocino has officially slammed the door on an NFL comeback, Terrell Owens tells TMZ Sports he's still DEAD SERIOUS about playing in the league.

"I can help anybody," T.O. tells TMZ Sports ... saying his tweet to the NY Giants about filling in as a WR was no joke.

Owens had been competing on "Dancing with the Stars" for the past few months -- but says he would have left the show immediately if an NFL offer had come in.

BTW, did you watch T.O. on that show? Still looks pretty good ...

"Dancing with the Stars" front-runner Lindsey Stirling is in excruciating pain after suffering a devastating injury that could knock her off the show.

'DWTS' sources tell TMZ ... Lindsey was badly hurt Sunday in rehearsal practicing a rapid dance move and was rushed to a hospital. We've learned she suffered a blunt rib injury and possible separation, and the pain's so immense it could force her to bow out of Monday's show.

Lindsey's dance partner, Mark Ballas, went to the hospital with Lindsey, and she asked him what would happen if she's unable to perform Monday. It's crushing ... he tells Lindsey she'll have to forfeit.

Frankie Muniz did plenty of Netflix and chill this summer ... not on a hot new show, but on "Malcolm in the Middle" to jog the memory.

We got Frankie at The Grove Wednesday and asked him about his big revelation on "Dancing with the Stars" -- that he's suffering severe memory loss due to multiple mini strokes and 9 concussions from playing sports.

Terrell Owens ain't winning over the "Dancing with the Stars" judges ... but he's got the horny women of America on his side -- so says Lisa Lampanelli.

Lampanelli's a huge 'DWTS' fan -- so when we got the raunchy comic out in NYC, we asked her who she likes on the new season.

"This T.O. -- he keeps taking his shirt off, he has Lisa Lampanelli's vote!"

Lampanelli told TMZ Sports she ain't horndoggin' like she used to ... but says Terrell's signature 6-pack has her seriously thinking about goin' back to her old bro-bangin' ways.

Watch your back, T.O.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy is out one set of expensive golf clubs ... after someone drove by and jacked his gear straight out of his trunk.

Law enforcement sources tell us the 'DWTS' dancer was parked outside a Hollywood Hills home Wednesday night, when someone rolled up in an SUV next to his whip.

Someone inside the house with Maks saw a man hop out, pop open Maks' trunk somehow and steal his golf club set, which our sources say is worth about $10,000.

The guy threw the clubs in his SUV and took off before anyone could stop him.

Barbara Corcoran was hangin' onto Keo Motsepe for dear life ... hangin' onto his junk.

The "Shark Tank" star and her pro dancer scored a 14 on the season premiere of "Dancing with the Stars" Monday ... but the bigger story was Barbara grabbing onto Keo's crotch as the judges were dishing scores.

What's unclear is if Babs was oblivious or conscious that she was in the region.

Bobby Brown can reminisce about teaching Michael Jackson to moonwalk, allegedly ... but that's about it.

We got the R&B legend outside the Dream Hotel in Hollywood Thursday night where our photog went looking for a freebie -- a dance lesson from the man who this week claimed he taught MJ the iconic move.

By the way, Bobby's story is highly disputed. Michael's own sister, La Toya Jackson, says it was Shalamar member Jeffrey Daniel, and there's video proof to support that.

In any event, Bobby ain't quite ready to live out that alleged part of his glory days. The other takeaway here -- do NOT ask him about "Dancing with the Stars."

Terrell Owens ain't letting his NFL comeback die just cause he's "Dancing With the Stars" ... telling TMZ Sports he's still gunnin' for a roster spot.

We got T.O. in the Beverly Hills right before his 'DWTS' reveal ... and the 43-year-old doubled down on his comments from last week -- when he said it's "a joke" that he's not in the league.

"Yeah (it's a joke) ... considering the shape that I'm in."

"I'm an exception to the rule in terms of people playing well beyond their 30s."

We're not sure if Terrell's gonna get that shot -- dude hasn't seen a snap in 7 years -- but the Touchdown Dance MVP's gotta be an early favorite for 'DWTS.'

Frankie Muniz let the dancing cat out of the bag -- before "Dancing With the Stars" confirmed he's joining the show ... he showed up for practice.

Paps got Frankie Thursday in L.A. showing up for a little 2-step with Witney Carson, the pro dancer who'll obviously be teaching him the ropes. Frankie will be joining Nick and Vanessa Lachey and "Property Brothers" star Drew Scott this season.

Singer and actor Jordan Fisher and ex-NBA star Derek Fisher are also said to be among the cast.

Sean Spicer will NOT be bringing his dancing talents -- or lack thereof -- to the "Dancing with the Stars" ballroom ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Spicer tell us the former White House Press Secretary was flattered by the opportunity, but because he believes he'll have an "overwhelming number of commitments in the Fall," he declined the offer.

As for whether Spicey had the skills to truly compete on 'DWTS' -- our source said, "He's not a good dancer."

That hasn't stopped plenty of other celebrities, but we're told Sean just didn't think he had the time it would require. So, no D.C. two-stepping on 'DWTS' this season.

Unless, the Mooch is interested!

Turns out controversial "Bachelor In Paradise" star DeMario Jackson may not be done with reality TV -- TMZ has learned producers are seriously considering him for a "Dancing With the Stars" slot.

Sources close to production tell us the show reached out to DeMario's publicist weeks ago, which explains why he was already fully campaigning to be in the ballroom when we asked about it last week.

We're told nothing's signed ... they're still negotiating, but hard to imagine a scenario where DeMario doesn't take this opportunity.

DeMario didn't return to the 'BiP' set in Mexico following the oral sex controversy with Corinne Olympios that shut down production, but he will be on the reunion episode.

Julianne Hough had to pull her wedding out of a ditch ... before she successfully made it down the aisle.

The "Dancing with the Stars" judge tied the knot with NHL star Brooks Laich over the weekend in Idaho -- but it was a rough rough ride getting there. One of the coaches porting their guests to the outdoor affair ... ended up in a ditch.

No one was hurt, and the bride and groom made it safely to the altar. Equally crucial to the big day ... Julianne's bro, Derek Hough's phone was apparently not damaged ... so he was able to text through the event.

Mazel!

Screw the mirror ball, Rashad Jennings just got MAJOR PRAISE from Beyonce's famous twin dancers!!!

They're known as "Les Twins" -- Laurent and Larry Bourgeois -- and after touring with Beyonce and Jay Z, they're now competing on Jennifer Lopez's new show "World of Dance."

The good news for Rashad ... the twins saw him bust out some of his moves on TV and were super impressed -- telling us the dude could go PRO if he was serious about a dancing career.

Erika Jayne wasn't being stuck-up on the finale of "Dancing with the Stars" like some fans accused her of being -- she skipped the final group performance because she needed surgery.

The 'Real Housewives' star is at an L.A. hospital Friday to have surgery to fix an upper body tear she suffered during the show. Sources with 'DWTS' tell us ... Jayne felt like something was wrong during a dance in early April.

Doctors confirmed the injury, but we're told she pressed on without telling anyone ... because she didn't want to play the sympathy card. She was eliminated shortly thereafter.

Doctors told her she should stop all dancing after that, which is why she sat on the sidelines -- on top of a unicorn -- during the finale.

We reached out to ABC about Erika's injury ... they had no comment.