Kristi Yamaguchi tweets at Nancy Kerrigan to ‘break a leg' on ‘Dancing With the Stars'

Prior to Monday’s premiere of “Dancing with the Stars” Season 24, former figure skater and “DWTS” champion Kristi Yamaguchi took to Twitter to wish fellow former figure skater Nancy Kerrigan good luck in the worst way possible.

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Hours before Kerrigan took the stage, Yamaguchi tweeted, “So excited for you @NancyAKerrigan ! Can’t wait to see you grace that ballroom floor, break a leg!”

Yes, that's right. She told Kerrigan, victim of the famous 1994 attack, in which she was assaulted with a police-style baton to the knee, to "break a leg." Just before the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit that year, a man, who had been paid by Kerrigan rival Tonya Harding's ex-husband, struck her on the right knee, injuring her leg. While it wasn't broken, Kerrigan did suffer cuts, bruises and swelling and walked with a limp.

Twitter responded with generally surprised reactions.

Of course, Yamaguchi was just employing a common -- if ill-fitting, considering Kerrigan’s history -- phrase, but that didn’t stop the internet from freaking out over it.

Yamaguchi has not clarified her comment, nor has she deleted the tweet.

Kerrigan took the joke in stride, tweeting, "Thank you @kristiyamaguchi for the advise (sic)! It definitely is helping!"

Cox Media Group