Mauricio Umansky elaborates on “DWTS” Israel shout-out, reveals his cousin's boyfriend was killed
Dancing With the Stars might be a weekly escape for most viewers, but on Tuesday night, Mauricio Umansky took a moment to shine a light on world events.
After performing a foxtrot to "Working My Way Back to You" by The Spinners, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star and partner Emma Slater made their way to the Skybox where Umansky gave a shout-out to Israel in the wake of a deadly conflict in the region following Saturday's surprise attack by Hamas. "There is so much going on right now in my life, and the world," he said. "Specifically right now with Israel and everything that is going on there. Tonight, I stood by Israel and I danced for Israel and we gave it our all."
Umansky also wore an Israeli flag pin on his lapel throughout the night.
Disney/Eric McCandless Mauricio Umansky and Emma Slater on 'Dancing With the Stars'
Following the show, Umansky elaborated further on his connections to Israel and why he wanted to make a statement on the broadcast.
"I have a lot of family there," he tells EW. "I had one of the best experiences of my life in Israel. I moved there for one year to live in the kibbutz [note: a kibbutz is a term for an Israeli community that lives in a communal, collective format] and I volunteered."
The Buying Beverly Hills star also reveals that an individual close to his family died in the recent violence. "It's hard," he says. "My cousin's boyfriend was just killed defending his kibbutz, and it's been very hard and it's been a very difficult time."
With a score of 23 out of 40 from the judges, Umansky and Slater avoided landing in the bottom three this week, ensuring that he will return next week for the show's Disney 100 celebration.
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.
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