Apparently, battling bug infestations and stubborn members of Congress is easier than making two bum feet do the Cha-cha-cha, as Tom DeLay has bowed out of “Dancing with the Stars.”

Of all the contestants on this season’s “Dancing,” DeLay definitely got the most attention when the cast was announced. But it turns out, he may not be missed all that much.

A poll from entertainment website PopEater.com found that 68 percent of respondents are not sad to see DeLay leave “Dancing.”

DeLay, a former bug exterminator and U.S. House of Representatives majority leader, said on Tuesday’s show that he is leaving because of stress fractures in both feet. “Dancing” is notorious for inflicting injuries on its cast members, inspiring talk that the show suffers from a “curse.” In truth, it’s just a program that demands a lot from cast members, who often come in physically unprepared.

It doesn’t look as if DeLay, whose nicknames over the years have included “Hot Tub Tom” and “The Hammer,” is leaving with any hard feelings. When he joined the program, his professional dancing partner, Cheryl Burke, teased the Republican DeLay by saying, “Tom is very conservative, so a lot of hip shaking is not up his alley.”

But speaking to US Weekly magazine after DeLay announced his departure, Burke said, “He taught me that politicians can dance!”

DeLay jokingly lamented, “I haven’t made her a conservative yet!”

With such deft tact, you can’t say DeLay’s lost his political skills.

(Photo: Courtesy ABC)

A little cha cha cha, a little singing of “Wild Thing”, some shaking of the booty, a leopard-trimmed dance outfit, et voila! — a new career for former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay ?

The bug exterminator turned political powerhouse — known as “The Hammer” for his hardball tactics — took to the ballroom in the ninth season of “Dancing with the Stars” with two-time champion and professional dancer Cheryl Burke.

And while Burke warned in rehearsal that “Tom is very conservative, so a lot of hip shaking is not up his alley,” the audience got to see a fair amount of that too. Watch the video here.

Good humored and surprisingly light on his feet, as one shocked judge said, DeLay and Burke received a score of 16 points out of 30. Another judge said: “Parts were magic, parts were tragic,” to which DeLay turned around and, again, shook his tail feather.

“I got bigger critics than those judges,” said the former congressman whose Washington career hit the skids in 2005 when he was indicted in Texas on campaign finance charges. Although he pleaded not guilty, he dropped out of his re-election bid in 2006.

Tuesday night we’ll see how DeLay fared with the people, when viewers’ votes are announced. More than 17 million viewers tuned in to see the season premiere, making it the most watched show on prime-time TV Monday night.

Photo credit: Adam Larkey/ABC.

La Toya Jackson will not join the cast of hit ABC show “Dancing with the Stars,” because of what she has been going through since her brother Michael Jackson died in June.

“I’ve been approached to do ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” she told celebrity news show Access Hollywood. “The fact of the matter is, I won’t be doing it, simply because of the circumstances that (are) going on at the moment.”

A spokeswoman for “Dancing,” which matches celebrities with professional dancers to compete in the ballroom, said she would not comment on casting decisions.

Reports surfaced in recent days that La Toya Jackson might join “Dancing.” In her interview with Access Hollywood, the singer and close confidant to Michael Jackson said that her 79-year-old mother Katherine “perked up” at news that her daughter might join the show, because she likes it.

While she’s not up for “Dancing,” La Toya said that she would like to join top-rated Fox show “American Idol” as a judge. Producers on the show are said to be looking for a celebrity to replace 1980s pop star Paula Abdul, who announced her departure earlier this month.

Rap star Lil’ Kim had a near wardrobe malfunction on “Dancing with the Stars” Monday night that forced host Tom Bergeron to stand between her and the judges as she adjusted her top while judge Len Goodman critiqued her performance. It was quick, which has led to speculation about how much the rapper, who is known for sexually explicit lyrics, might have actually shown to viewers of the ABC program?

The accident happened after Lil’ Kim and her professional dancing partner Derek Hough performed a jive dance to the tune of “Jailhouse Rock,” a song made famous by Elvis Presley in 1957.  The performance was slightly ironic, since Kim was sentenced to prison for a year in 2005 following her conviction on conspiracy and perjury charges for lying to a grand jury about her friends’ involvement in a 2001 shooting.

Her “wardrobe malfunction” on Monday night’s “Dancing with the Stars” called to mind singer Janet Jackson’s half-time show at the 2004 Super Bowl, when Jackson upset many viewers by exposing a breast at the end of a performance with Justin Timberlake. Jackson blamed it on a “wardrobe malfunction,” but at the time it looked more like a publicity stunt gone awfully wrong and it angered many viewers. Lil’ Kim’s apparent gaff was edited out for “Dancing” viewers on the West Coast.

Derek Hough joked with US Weekly that his partner ”desperately tried to pull a Janet Jackson,” but Lil’ Kim interrupted him during the interview. “Don’t say that!” she said. “That’s a whole other show! I’d have to get paid a lot, a lot of money!” 

Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough got a judges score of 28 out of 30 for their dancing. But will her costume problems hurt her chances with the show’s voters? Or will it help? The show’s elimination round is Tuesday.

Elsewhere on ”Dancing,” French actor Gilles Marini told E! News that when he is finished competing on the show he will undergo surgery for a separated shoulder suffered during his run as a contestant. “I don’t really like to talk about it,” Marini told E! News. “I don’t want people to pity me.” Marini’s shoulder problem was one of several injuries this season on “Dancing,” which has lead to speculation of a “curse” affecting contestants.

Expect stunt-performer Steve-O back on “Dancing with the Stars” on Tuesday night’s show, despite falling on his back during a rehearsal for Monday night’s episode. On his blog on Tuesday, the “Jackass” star showed a picture of the swelling on his back, where he landed on his mic pack during rehearsal with his professional dancing partner, Lacey Schwimmer. 

“With 20/20 hindsight, I must admit that I exercised very poor judgment last night,” Steve-O wrote. “Jumping flat onto a bad back with a microphone pack strapped to it was sensationally idiotic, especially after Lacey told me what a bad idea she thought it was.”

Before he performed the on-camera stunt, Steve-O was already suffering from back spasms. But evidently, he thought slamming his back onto the ballroom floor might impress the judges. But they were non-plussed by the stunt, and did not care for his dancing. After watching the rehearsal on video, as allowed by the rules, the judges gave Steve-O a score of 14 out of 30.

Steve-O, whose real name is Stephen Glover, starred in a reality show called “Jackass” on MTV that involved him doing crazy stunts and pranks, and he has starred in a couple “Jackass” movies. In one display of how “Jackass” his stunts can be, he previously stapled his scrotum to his thigh in an act he called “The Butterfly.”

A spokeswoman for the show’s network, ABC, said Steve-O would be back on the show on Tuesday night.

The performer is not the only “Dancing with the Stars” contestant to suffer injuries this season. Before the season premiere earlier this month, singer Jewel and celebrity journalist Nancy O’Dell were scratched as contestants because of knee and leg injuries. And contestants Steve Wozniak and Gilles Marini have also suffered some injuries.

It seems on “Dancing with the Stars,” you don’t have to be a shock stunt performer to get hurt.

Three more contestants on the ABC show “Dancing with the Stars” nursed injuries on Friday as they steeled themselves for their appearance on the show next week. Dance floor casualties Steve-O, Steve Wozniak and Gilles Marini are all hurting, but they want to stay on, according to media reports.

Steve-O, a daredevil stunt man who starred in the television series “Jackass,” has complained of an on-going back injury. Wozniak, who co-founded Apple Computer Inc, was photographed earlier this week leaving a Los Angeles dance studio with a cast on his leg. Marini, a French-born actor who starred in last year’s movie “Sex and the City,” has said he separated his shoulder. It remains to be seen on Monday’s episode if all three contestants will follow through on their pledges to soldier on.

This comes after two original contestants, the singer Jewel and the celebrity journalist Nancy O’Dell, were scratched from the show before the premiere episode last Monday with knee and leg injuries. Former Playboy model Holly Madison and “Bachelor” star Melissa Rycroft replaced the two contestants.  

Media reports have described all the injuries as a continuation of the “curse” that supposedly plagues the show, now in its eighth season. (Who could forget Marie Osmond’s collapse on the ballroom floor or Julianne Hough’s appendicitis and endometriosis?) Another possible explanation is that many Americans are simply out of shape, so the rigors of performing on a show with pirouettes, jumps and dizzying footwork could be too much for the average body to take.

Who else will the show’s “curse” claim? Surely the pain will continue, at least for some contestants. The show has sparked a popular interest in ballroom dancing, but it may want to adopt the disclaimer “don’t try this at home.”

Jilted on national TV last week by the “The Bachelor”,  former cheerleader Melissa Rycroft is expected to join ex-Playboy model Holly Madison as the last minute “Dancing with the Stars” replacements for injured singer Jewel and celebrity journalist Nancy O’Dell.

But on the eve of the eighth season of the show, it seems that Olympic champion gymnast Shawn Johnson, 17,  is the celebrity that fans are most excited about seeing, according to an AOL poll.

But those polled aren’t holding out much hope for former Apple executive Steve Wozniak’s chances of success on the show. An overwhelming 71 percent thought that Wozniak (pictured left) would be the first dancing “star” to leave first.

ABC aren’t saying until Monday’s season premiere  who will be perfoming a quick step late entry to the cast. But Madison,  the former girlfriend of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, is widely expected to be one of them.

Rycroft,  the briefly engaged fiancee of “Bachelor” Jason Mesnick who was dumped last week in the “After the Final Rose” special, was reported by celebrity outlets to be waltzing on in place of O’Dell after less than a week of rehearsal.

(Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis) 
 
Brooke Burke hoisted the championship trophy on “Dancing with the Stars” on Tuesday, and although her win came as a surprise to virtually no one, the former travel show host and mother of four was left almost speechless by it all. 
 
It was an emotional night for Burke, who ended her last dance routine by waltzing over to her two daughters and kissing them. Her Viennese Waltz was not as acrobatic as the routines Warren Sapp and Lance Bass performed for their last dances, but the judges liked Brooke’s style and they gave her a perfect score, with judge Carrie Ann Inaba nearly weeping as she talked about how great the performance was.  
 
Brooke’s perfect score of 30 capped off a season in which she had long been the front-runner. The 37-year-old performer with long eyelashes and flawless footwork consistently impressed, with judge Bruno Tonioli on Tuesday telling her, “You truly are the jewel in the crown of this really grand finale.” 
 
And with that, Warren and his partner Kym Johnson and Lance and his partner Lacey Schwimmer, or Lancey as they liked to be called, graciously bowed out. Lance was the first of Tuesday’s three finalists to be eliminated, telling the judges and the crowd, “This has been the most fun I’ve had in my entire life.” He is not the only contestant to talk of the show in such glowing terms. On Monday, Warren said that if he won the championship it would be “the greatest accomplishment of my life.” And this from a man who was on a Super Bowl winning team during his professional football career. 
 
Also on Tuesday’s show, 82-year-old former contestant Cloris Leachman made a comeback of sorts, dancing with partner Corky Ballas again and performing in a couple comedy sketches, not to mention going after random citizens with a microphone in a man-on-the-street interview segment. Comedian and former contestant Jeffrey Ross roasted Leachman, and just about everyone else. But his best jokes were aimed at Cloris. Referring to a 1989 movie in which two young men drag along a dead man and pretend he’s alive, Ross described Leachman’s dancing style thusly, “It’s like Weekend at Bernie’s: The Musical.’”

(Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

It could hardly come as a surprise to many viewers when Cody Linley was voted off “Dancing with the Stars” on Tuesday, after he finished at the bottom of the judges’ scoring tally for three straight weeks.

“DWTS” co-host Samantha Harris told Cody, 18, that he had grown up in his time on the show. Last week a small contingent of his young fans squealed in delight when Maurice Greene was eliminated instead of him. On Tuesday, the crowd gave Cody a warm send-off.
 
“Words can’t even explain the true amazing, growing, learning journey that I’ve had on this show,” Cody said. “I can’t show my appreciation any more to Julianne. I can’t say thank you. I love her so much. This opportunity has been so amazing.”

Then, Cody hugged his partner Julianne Hough for a long goodbye. But this time, he held back the tears that only last week streamed down his cheeks when talking about Julianne’s return to the show following her surgery. She obviously meant a lot to the young star.   
 
Linley’s elimination means fans will no longer see the popular Julianne Hough bop around the dance floor. And, after her singing performance on Tuesday’s show, it’s clear she has more to offer in the future than just dancing. She can carry a tune. 
 
With her brother, Derek, as one of the three dancers performing on stage, Hough sang “My Hallelujah Song” from her self-titled album released in May. The crowd cheered as Hough proved she is a star in her own right and not just a sidekick to Cody, a “Hannah Montana” actor who comes out of the Disney talent factory.
 
Also on Tuesday’s show, Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin sang as last season’s champion Kristi Yamaguchi, the Olympic skater, danced with her partner Mark Ballas and showed she would be a strong contender if she was in this season’s competition. Remaining contestants Brooke Burke, Warren Sapp and Lance Bass will face each other in next week’s final.

(Photos: copyright ABC Inc.; Kelsey McNeal)

(Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)
 
“Hannah Montana” star Cody Linley has waited patiently until he could reunite with his favorite high-stepper, Julianne Hough, who was out on medical leave. On Tuesday they hit the floor together again on “Dancing With The Stars,” after Cody squeaked past last week’s elimination round. But how long will they last? 

Tuesday night, 18-year-old Cody fretted over whether he could pull off his paso doble, saying he worried his young age could keep him from looking manly enough for the dance style, which is meant to resemble a bull fight. As it turns out, Cody had other problems with the dance. The judges called his performance wooden and stiff, and judge Len Goodman remarked on Cody’s military outfit and marshal choreography as he gave Cody a dressing-down.

“I’m afraid you’re going to get your marching orders, because that was not good. I’m sorry,” Goodman said.     
 
Cody and Julianne fell to the bottom of the scoring tally with a 46 out of 60 for their two dances. Cody has found himself in the basement for three weeks straight. But don’t blame Julianne. While Cody was struggling the past two weeks, Julianne was recovering from having her appendix removed and Cody had to dance with a replacement partner.  
  
Elsewhere, the judges had nothing but praise for former ‘N Sync star Lance Bass and partner Lacey Schwimmer, who scored at the top of the four couples left on the show with a 57 out of 60. Retired football star Warren Sapp dazzled audiences with his big personality that goes with his oversized frame, tying model and TV host Brooke Burke with a score of 49. But the judges have been hard on Warren, faulting him for having flat feet, while they have had almost nothing but praise for Brooke. Are Brooke and Lance bound to square off in the finals? Or will Cody somehow sneak through the elimination round again?

(Photos: Copyright ABC Inc; Kelsey McNeal)