'Dancing' judge hits back at Grier

Dancing With The Stars judge Bruno Tonioli has criticised David Allen Grier following his recent attack on the show's panel.

Grier announced that he wanted to "slap the s**t" out of the judges after being eliminated from the ABC reality series earlier this month.

Singling out panellist Carrie Ann Inaba, he added: "There's several people that can kiss my ass, but she's definitely the first in line."

In an interview with The Bonnie Hunt Show, Tonioli has now claimed that Grier's remarks were unnecessary and hurtful.

"There is a line I think you can push to but you should never go over and I think it was a little bit of a mistake of judgment," he explained. "I think it was pushing it a little too far. I don't think it was necessary. We all make mistakes and I'm sure he is aware of it."

Inaba recently blamed "misdirected anger" for Grier's outburst, adding that the star had since apologised over the matter.