Regarding Bruno Tonioli, Michael Bolton can’t stop digging

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Michael Bolton, put down that shovel and stop digging!

In telling People he wasn’t going to pressure ‘Dancing With the Stars’ any further for an apology from mean, mean judge Bruno Tonioli (Hint: It’s not gonna happen), the mega-selling singer and mega-lousy quick-stepper tagged on yet another proclamation:

‘Bruno should search his soul for what he is doing on that show.’

(Judging by how Bruno snarkily slapped his own wrist on camera when Michael chided him Tuesday about that ‘worst jive in 11 seasons’ comment, we’re pretty sure any soul searching that was going to happen already has happened.)

‘I asked for it in one interview and I felt he should express a public apology to me,’ Bolton said. ‘I think asking once is enough, and I don’t want my friends, fans and supporters to ask for it. It is what it is.’

But hey, it’s not about himself, really -- Bolton said again that he felt bad for his mom, who was in the audience Monday, and, well, he’s afraid that after the way he was treated, other celebs who aren’t great dancers might not sign up for ‘DWTS’ at all.

‘It’s not realistic to expect people to expose themselves to that kind of negativity that doesn’t have a positive encouragement message connected to it,’ said the singer, who also told the mag he knows it wasn’t as if he and partner Chelsie Hightower were going to win or anything crazy like that. Any bets that Michael grew up in one of those places where everyone on the soccer team got a trophy just for showing up?

Click to vote in our crybaby/diva/poor sport/justified victim poll.

-- Christie D’Zurilla

Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

On ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ Bristol Palin speaks, Sarah Palin gets booed? [polls]

For ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ Kurt Warner leaves his game face at home