Hope Solo & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Season 13

[AZChristian]

If one were to look for EVIDENCE of their relationship - given by BOTH of them, one could point to their Twitter feeds. Maks was wishing her good luck all during the Olympics, and she was offering to hold him a seat at Wembley Stadium to watch her play. This was HOW LONG after the "slap"? If his treatment of her was so bad that DWTS offered to get her a new partner, WHY would she then maintain ANY relationship with him - even online?

Hubby opined that perhaps Hope wanted "more" than Maks was willing to give . . . "Hell hath no fury . . ." ????

[Fanny Mare]

Well, my opinion has done a 180. I believed it was a he-said-she-said case and was trying to stay neutral. No more staying neutral for me. IMO, she's lying through her teeth!

I was flipping the channels Monday night and happened to see her on that Chelsea Handler woman's show on E!. I found it at the tail end of the interview, but the last topic was Maks. CH asked her about it, and Hope immediately got all annoyed and acted put out that she was being asked to talk about it. CH snarked back (not exact words, but close) "Hey, I didn't write this, you did! You're the one saying it!"

Hope then said her face was in the wrong position in practice (slumped down instead of back and at an angle), so he put her face in the right place. She says she had hoop (?) earrings on and I think she mentioned the ringing ears thing in this interview, but can't recall exactly. Said she was stunned, then I think CH asked her why didn't she punch him, and Hope said something like she wanted to punch him in the face, but something about the show would edit it to blame her. CH said Maks sounds like a (bad word I will not repeat), and Hope agreed.

I don't know if this is online anywhere, but if it is, y'all should watch it. Her body language, facial expressions, etc., everything screamed that she was lying, IMO. It was nothing like the ESPN interview where she seemed at ease and like she was just stating her side. Totally different. And among other things, as y'all have said, why tweet to/speak kindly of a guy who is so awful?

If I were to guess, I think she took a basic training situation like him moving her face into the correct position and evolved it into "He slapped me!" And if so, he should sue her.

I just watched it online.She sure got some cheers and applause though didnt she? nothing from the show ( DWTS)as usual.

[karalott]

I didn't watch the interview and have no desire to. But first, she has no problem writing about it, but is starting to get annoyed when she's asked about it? That's probably why she put it in there in the first place-no one would care otherwise! She claims that the video of Maks slapping her was destroyed by producers because she chose not to fire him (ha!) or switch partners. Of course, she could always re-create the hand print on her stomach and takes photos and pass it off as what she alleges Maks did. Is her book out right now for sale, and does anyway know how it's doing? I've tried googling it, but all I get are articles about the Maks incident. Also, she said she was worried if she punched him back the show would make her look bad? Um, sure, whatever. The same show that apparently was willing to fire him for you and let you switch partners. Whatever Hope. Keep on lying. Hopefully it's worth it. Fiction does sometimes sell better than non fiction when your story would have been boring otherwise.

[AZChristian]

I saw somewhere on line that after a week, the book has already dropped out of the Amazon Top 100 list.

"No mas pantalones."

[VAgirl79]

I didn't watch the interview and have no desire to. But first, she has no problem writing about it, but is starting to get annoyed when she's asked about it? That's probably why she put it in there in the first place-no one would care otherwise! She claims that the video of Maks slapping her was destroyed by producers because she chose not to fire him (ha!) or switch partners. Of course, she could always re-create the hand print on her stomach and takes photos and pass it off as what she alleges Maks did. Is her book out right now for sale, and does anyway know how it's doing? I've tried googling it, but all I get are articles about the Maks incident. Also, she said she was worried if she punched him back the show would make her look bad? Um, sure, whatever. The same show that apparently was willing to fire him for you and let you switch partners. Whatever Hope. Keep on lying. Hopefully it's worth it. Fiction does sometimes sell better than non fiction when your story would have been boring otherwise.

It came out last week, I believe. It's in the mid-200s on Amazon, but in actual overall book sales, USA Today has it at #88. NYT doesn't list it as of yet.

I am disappointed because I supported them her season and rooted for her, as I usually do with the Olympians.

[KatesMom]

Ok, someone a few pages back mentioned me, so I feel like I have to answer what I can on the lawsuit side of things. Here's the issue, this is a lot of he said/she said. If there is no footage out there, he can use it to show there was no slapping. She can say they destroyed the tape. Then it is up to a jury. But let me be clear, before that happens, you are at least a year out and probably a few hundred thousand dollars into legal fees. Unless you have the smoking gun, the only people who get rich off these lawsuits are the lawyers. And while Maks may have some money, he's not rich. Is it worth it to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to try? Unfortunately, I have to tell my clients this a lot - unless you have the money to file a lawsuit and stick it out, sometimes the bad guys (girls) win. It sucks.

Now ABC is a whole different animal, and they obviously have the money to file a lawsuit. I guess my real question here is what did Hope's contract say? That she couldn't talk about the show? Because others have talked about the show. Is it a non-disparagement clause (meaning you can't talk bad about the show)? Is it a confidentiality agreement? Or is it a settlement agreement (which might imply something did happen)? I have no idea what the contract is they are talking about, and whether they are willing to take the chance and publicize it.

The whole other thing to take into account is damages. Yes, Maks could win on defamation and ABC could win on breach of contract. After spending all that money on legal fees, what are their damages? I definitely see on this board, aside from a few posters, most are calling BS, so Hope's reputation is suffering much more than Maks' is. ABC is getting plenty of publicity about the upcoming show.

I guess because I am a lawyer I have a very different take than some people. Just because you are right does not always mean you should sue. Can you prove it, and can you afford the financial and time burden to get there? Most people can't.

[JunkieGirl]

Ok, someone a few pages back mentioned me, so I feel like I have to answer what I can on the lawsuit side of things. Here's the issue, this is a lot of he said/she said. If there is no footage out there, he can use it to show there was no slapping. She can say they destroyed the tape. Then it is up to a jury. But let me be clear, before that happens, you are at least a year out and probably a few hundred thousand dollars into legal fees. Unless you have the smoking gun, the only people who get rich off these lawsuits are the lawyers. And while Maks may have some money, he's not rich. Is it worth it to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to try? Unfortunately, I have to tell my clients this a lot - unless you have the money to file a lawsuit and stick it out, sometimes the bad guys (girls) win. It sucks.

Now ABC is a whole different animal, and they obviously have the money to file a lawsuit. I guess my real question here is what did Hope's contract say? That she couldn't talk about the show? Because others have talked about the show. Is it a non-disparagement clause (meaning you can't talk bad about the show)? Is it a confidentiality agreement? Or is it a settlement agreement (which might imply something did happen)? I have no idea what the contract is they are talking about, and whether they are willing to take the chance and publicize it.

The whole other thing to take into account is damages. Yes, Maks could win on defamation and ABC could win on breach of contract. After spending all that money on legal fees, what are their damages? I definitely see on this board, aside from a few posters, most are calling BS, so Hope's reputation is suffering much more than Maks' is. ABC is getting plenty of publicity about the upcoming show.

I guess because I am a lawyer I have a very different take than some people. Just because you are right does not always mean you should sue. Can you prove it, and can you afford the financial and time burden to get there? Most people can't.

Excellent post, Katesmom! I was going to post the other night some similar thoughts/questions but I am no lawyer and definitely not eloquent. So thanks for giving us your input, much appreciated.

Why would Maks use his own funds to sue Hope unless his career started to suffer from these "allegations" If ABC has a case against her, let them go after her with their endless pockets and entertainment lawyers at their disposal.

[Debb70]

Wendy Williams has all but said the same type of thing that Hope said in her book. Wendy stops short of it. I guess she doesn't want to get sued. It does make me wonder.

[PA Snow Bunny]

Hope also accused her former coach & players of abusing her as well.
I am sorry but this wasn't season 1 or 2 so she knew who Maks was & his temperment. What did she expect; hugs, kisses, rainbows & unicorns?
Sorry but she is a soccer goalie. I think she was more than capable of defending herself against Maks. Not buying her story.

[jucamer]

Wendy Williams has all but said the same type of thing that Hope said in her book. Wendy stops short of it. I guess she doesn't want to get sued. It does make me wonder.

Wendy Williams said what type of thing? She wasn't partnered with Maks and wasn't around the set long enough (didn't she go the first week?)