Strip show boots out DWTS judgeSTRICTLY Ballroom star and Dancing with the Stars judge Paul Mercurio says he and a friend were kicked out of a strip club earlier last week because a dancer "got into a huff" when they wouldn't tip her.
Mercurio, 45, admitted to Sunday News he and a mate were asked to leave Wellington strip club Santa Fe Dreamgirls at about 11pm on Monday the night before DWTS was filmed live at Avalon Studios.
But Santa Fe Dreamgirls manager Karen who refused to give her full name told Sunday News Mercurio and his friend had been asked to leave because they had been "too friendly" with the strippers.
Karen said staff weren't sure whether it was Mercurio or his companion who had touched a female dancer which is against strip-club protocol but said Mercurio had to leave anyway because he was "boring them (dancers) senseless".
"He was just boring them (the dancers) to death with his `so you think you can dance' talk," she said.
"You bore people senseless and they, you know, they take up their (the dancers') time. So it's not worth it for them.
"The dancers said he was really boring and annoying and that he was just blah-blah-ing about dancing all night."
Mercurio who spoke to Sunday News from his home in Melbourne denies the club's accusations.
The father of three said "the touch" Santa Fe Dreamgirls staff were referring too was perfectly innocent, and that he and his "beer guru" friend were effectively kicked out for not tipping a dancer despite being the only customers present.
Mercurio said he and his friend were at the strip club so briefly they didn't even see a dancer strip or have time to finish their first beer.
"We hadn't even seen this lady dance when she was asking for money, which is fine, but, um, I declined to give her money and then she lent over to my friend, who as I said, touched her on the back to say `I beg your pardon,' so she went off in a huff," he said.
"So she could have been upset we didn't give her any money. We certainly hadn't been warned before that because we had only just arrived. The bouncer did tell us we'd been warned twice but that was completely untrue."
Mercurio who also hosts a cooking show in Australia laughed off the accusation he had groped one of the strippers.
"I love the story though that I slapped a girl on the bottom. Not true at all. And I'd tell you if it was," he said.
"If I did something wrong I probably wouldn't be speaking to you. You know, if I had something to hide, to be quite honest with you, I wouldn't be talking to you. It's dubious whether I should be talking to you now but I am. You can take it or leave it. What I said is exactly what happened."
Mercurio said he ended up at Dreamgirls after drinking at the Malthouse pub and enjoying a "beautiful dinner" at Capitol Restaurant, where he ate a meal that included parmesan-encrusted liver.
"My friend suggested it. It was the end of the evening. `Let's go and see someone dance', I thought, why not? What a good idea."
Mercurio said he didn't regret his night in the capital city.
"Do I regret it, oh heck no.
"Look, I came home and told my wife about the whole thing and she had a laugh," he said.
"I told some of the dancers about it at DWTS, about my `mad' night ... I've come over to New Zealand for four years and this is the first time I've had a big night," he said.
After being kicked out by Dreamgirls, Mercurio and his friend went to another Wellington strip club Mermaids.
"We had absolutely no trouble there. We had a couple of drinks, talked to some nice girls and had a photo taken, then went home.
"You'll have to chase that one (the photo) down, won't you?"
Mercurio said the strip club visits weren't his first.
"I'm not going to say I've never been to a strip club before, you know. But this is the first time in New Zealand and this has been the first time in a long time."
But probably it would be his last.
"That's another reason I don't go to these places, because every time you do go it's so well documented. So I had a bit of fun with some of the locals, enjoyed it, but that will be the last time I reckon.
"I actually realised I'm getting a bit old for this because we were sitting down the back (of a strip club) having a chat to some people and I couldn't see the girls, and I thought, `Geez I'm getting too old for this'."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-news/news/2262550/Strip-show-boots-out-DWTS-judge
