DWTS pro Val Chmerkovskiy suspended from show after being accused of threatening to slap judge over wife’s low score
Dancing with the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy has received a weeklong suspension from the series after he was accused of threatening to slap one of the show’s judges, Carrie Ann Inaba, over his wife Jenna Johnson’s low score.
After this Tuesday’s episode, Chmerkovskiy shared a now-deleted post to his TikTok Story that said: ‘You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.’
While he did not specify what he meant, many fans thought he was referring to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2023 Oscars after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
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.
‘The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable,’ they informed 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.’
Chmerkovskiy issued a statement in reaction to the news, insisting his ‘instinct was to defend my wife’ but confessing he ‘made a poor decision’ out of ‘bad judgment.’
The Daily Mail has contacted a representative for Chmerkovskiy for further comment.
Dancing with the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy (left) has received a one-week suspension over a TikTok responding to his wife Jenna Johnson’s (right) low score
‘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 insisted.
When Smith slapped Rock at the Oscars in 2023, he screamed at the host: ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!’
Chmerkovskiy said in his new statement: ‘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 concluded: ‘Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night. I’ll be watching and cheering everyone on!!’
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.
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.’
Chmerkovskiy, 40, was left unamused after Inaba (seen recently), 58, critiqued Johnson’s performance with partner Harry Shum Jr during this week’s episode
‘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.’