DWTS Bonner Bolton says viral grope of Sharna Burgess was unintentional

Things went noticeably south during last night’s premiere of Dancing with the Stars as a man who’s known for being handy with a rope got a little too handsy with a grope.

Professional bull rider Bonner Bolton was hanging out backstage when his professional dancing partner Sharna Burgess, decked out in some bonafide Daisy Dukes, backed up to where he was seated.

As Nick Viall and his partner Peta Murgatroyd joined Erin Andrews to find out their score, the camera caught Bolton’s hand getting way too cozy as it wrapped around Burgess. Shauna’s face understandably filled with surprise before she removed his hand:

Fans of the show certainly took notice as screen grabs of the incident started circulating heavily on Twitter.

Entertainment Weekly reached out to Bonner after the viral moment and here’s what he had to say:

I was just stargazed by Nick and Peta’s performance and I was looking at the TV screen. I felt her bump into me yet I wasn’t really looking at what was bumping into me. There was some hand placement that went south, so to speak.

The duo opened up with a country-themed Cha Cha to Luke Bryan’s single “Move.” The judges went out of their way to make note of the pair’s sexy connection on the dance floor but then handed out one of the lowest scores of the evening with a 22 out of 40.

Bolton emphasized that the scene caught on camera backstage was “totally unintentional.”