“Dancing with the Stars” professional Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended for one week after a social media post was interpreted as a threat to slap judge Carrie Ann Inaba over the low score given to his wife, Jenna Johnson.
Following Tuesday’s episode, Chmerkovskiy uploaded—and later deleted—a message to his TikTok Story that read: “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.”
Although he did not explain the reference, fans widely believed he was alluding to Will Smith’s infamous Oscars altercation with Chris Rock. Smith slapped the comedian during the 2023 ceremony after Rock joked about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
The post drew intense criticism, prompting the 40-year-old dancer to apologize publicly. BBC Studios confirmed Saturday that Chmerkovskiy will sit out one episode, making him the first professional in the show’s history to receive a suspension.
“The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable,” BBC Studios told Deadline. “Val’s social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show. As a result, he will not participate in next week’s show.”
In a statement provided to The Daily Mail through his representative, Chmerkovskiy said his first reaction was to stand up for his wife, but acknowledged that he exercised “bad judgment” and “made a poor decision.”
“Dancing with the Stars” professional Val Chmerkovskiy (left) has been suspended for one week after a TikTok post responding to his wife Jenna Johnson’s low score
Chmerkovskiy, 40, appeared unhappy after Carrie Ann Inaba, 58, criticized Jenna Johnson’s performance with partner Harry Shum Jr. during this week’s episode
“In a moment where my instinct was to defend my wife, I made a poor decision to reference a meme to ‘keep my wife’s name’ out of the conversation, without stopping to think through what else that reference could imply, which was genuinely never my intention,” Chmerkovskiy said.
During the 2023 Oscars incident, Smith shouted at Rock: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!”
Chmerkovskiy continued: “Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was. The last thing I want is to become a distraction from an important week or from the incredible work my dance partner Jenna Dewan is putting in.”
He added: “Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night. I’ll be watching and cheering everyone on!!”
People close to Chmerkovskiy told the Daily Mail that the controversy erupted almost immediately after he shared the post online.
While the dancer removed the TikTok Story soon afterward, sources said screenshots had already spread and reached Inaba.
“She was not going to let that s*** go,” one insider told the Daily Mail. “She was furious. Livid. She said it was a threat and that something needed to be done. She wanted an apology but also wanted consequences.”
According to insiders, Chmerkovskiy apologized directly to Inaba, but the judge reportedly felt the apology did not resolve the matter.
“So the producers knew that they had to meet in the middle and punish [Val],” a “Dancing with the Stars” insider told the Daily Mail. “She wanted more, but that’s what they ended up doing.”
A source close to Chmerkovskiy insisted that the dancer would “never do anything violent.”
“Val is a lover, not a fighter,” the source told the Daily Mail. “He wouldn’t slap Carrie, I know that for a fact. He was doing trash talk, like sports. Like complaining about a bad call from the refs. That’s all it was.
“And Carrie knows that, but she decided to make it into something that it wasn’t. It’s just not.”
Insiders at Dancing With the Stars told the Daily Mail that the cast and crew were split on their opinions about what happened, and that they did not know how the incident would be addressed on the show.
‘Some are always going to be team Carrie Ann, and they think more should have been done,’ a source said. ‘Then others know Val, they know who he is at heart, and they think it should just have been a reprimand.’
Another source told the Daily Mail that Johnson was ‘not happy at all’ with the situation.
‘Not one bit,’ the source added. ‘She’s afraid this really derailed her chances of winning. No one is going to vote for Val after this, that’s her worry. But it might be fine.’
Chmerkovskiy, 40, faced a furious backlash for the post and publicly apologized, but BBC Studios confirmed Saturday that he will be off the series for one week
On this week’s episode of the series, Chmerkovskiy was visibly unamused on camera when Inaba, 58, critiqued Johnson’s performance with partner Harry Shum Jr.
He could be seen on camera looking outraged as Inaba bashed the duo for including a ‘lift’ during their samba to the song Yeah! by Usher, which is against the rules.
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Chmerkovskiy’s subsequent TikTok became a lightning rod of controversy, as many fans took to X to bash him.
‘Um so either Val is insinuating that he wanted to slap Carrie Ann, throw her out or he’s just chose a random black show to characterize himself being aggressive,’ one user wrote. ‘Any of these options shows exactly what kind of person he is.’
‘I definitely think he’s trying to reference the Will Smith slap thing … it’s gross on so many levels,’ another added.
‘While Carrie Ann’s inconsistency with judging is something I think should be called out and discussed, nothing she has done has warranted threats of any kind,’ someone else chimed in. ‘I believe this is a threat.’
‘Absolutely nothing that happened last night warrants this reaction. Who the f**k does he think he is?’ read a fourth post.
A fifth said: ‘A man saying this towards a woman, even as a “joke,” will never ever sit right with me.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Chmerkovskiy for comment.
Amid the backlash Chmerkovskiy took to his Instagram Stories on Thursday to apologize.
‘I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent post. I have reached out to Carrie Ann to apologize directly and personally and I also want to apologize publicly as I understand my words affect so many outside our internal DWTS family.’
‘I should never have made the reference that I did and I deeply regret it. I recognize that I am in a fortunate position to have a platform and to be a role model to some, and I need to treat that with more care by actively pausing to think before I post to ensure what I am sharing aligns with who I am, and who I want to be for you all.’
He added, ‘I am truly sorry to Carrie Ann, and everyone I hurt with my careless post. I will do better moving forward. ❤️’
Afterwards, Chmerkovskiy shared a now-deleted post to his TikTok Story which said: ‘You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night’
While he didn’t specify what he meant by the comment, many fans thought he was referring to Fresh Prince star Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap
Chmerkovskiy, 40, was left unamused after Inaba, 58, critiqued Johnson’s performance with partner Harry Shum Jr during this week’s episode. Johnson is seen on the show
Amid the backlash, Chmerkovskiy took to his Instagram Stories on Thursday to apologize, stating that he ‘deeply’ regrets making the remark
Inaba responded by posting a screenshot of an article covering Chmerkovskiy’s comment to Instagram and writing: ‘So this is what we are doing now?’
During the episode, Inaba noted that while she ‘loved every minute of’ Johnson and Shum’s performance, it didn’t fit the samba.
‘If that was a halftime show, amazing, I loved every minute of it. But it’s a samba,’ she said.
‘And there was a lift,’ she added, to which Johnson replied: ‘A lift?’
‘Yeah it was a lift,’ Inaba said, before reading from a piece of paper that said: ‘A lift is any movement during which one of the dancers has both feet off the floor at the same time with the assistance or support of their partner.’
According to reports, lifts are not allowed in traditional samba.
Inaba ultimately gave them a score of eight.
Johnson was unamused by the response and shook her head.
Chmerkovskiy was also seen in the background looking furious.
Afterwards, Chmerkovskiy shared a message to Inaba in a TikTok comment posted under a video of the moment.
‘Put some respect on [my wife’s] name,’ he wrote, adding: ‘She’s trippin’ talking to her like that.’
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