‘The Masked Dancer’: Is the Sloth a ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Alum?

It’s no secret that The Masked Dancer’s Sloth has been doing very well in the show’s inaugural season. As one of the six remaining characters, his strong skills have saved him from elimination so far, but he may have given some good clues that have people feeling like they know the man behind the mask. Gold Derby speculates the character is actually prominent Dancing With the Stars dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who starred on the popular show for 17 seasons.

Chmerkovskiy’s DWTS history plays a huge role (if it is indeed him) in the clues video. The Dentist Whitening Tooth System was included as an obvious call to the competition series by using the same initials. He’s made it to the DWTS final five times and finally won in Season 18, a number which was highlighted in the clues video. He shares a mirrorball trophy with Olympic medalist Meryl Davis for their win that year. In the second clue video, both a mirror and a ball were used as hints.

It’s believed that the show has referenced Chmerkovskiy’s other partners at least four times: GLEE toothpaste for Glee alum Heather Morris, the initials “D.R.” for Denise Richards, an amber bug in reference to model Amber Rose, and a red Solo cup with the number 13 for soccer star Hope Solo.

Chmerkovskiy’s “very special love for The Nutcracker” is well known. When he married Peta Murgatroyd, another DWTS alum, in 2017, Tchaikovsky’s music was used to usher the couple down the aisle — which is referenced in the second clues video, where the sloth is seen proposing to another dancer.

Maksim spent some time on Broadway, previously starring in “Burn the Floor” in 2009 and “Forever Tango” in 2013. One of the shows was referenced with the burning room images in the clues video. He claims on the show he suffered an accident that was a challenge to overcome. Chmerkovskiy has been dancing since the age of 4, but he was almost forced to say goodbye to his dream after breaking his leg while skiing at 13.

Until the Sloth is unmasked, viewers will have to wait to see if the predictions are correct. With him being a favorite among judges Paula Abdul, Brian Austin Green, Ken Jeong, Ashley Tisdale, he stands a good chance of winning it all. The Masked Dancer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.