Dancing with the Stars suspends Val Chmerkovskiy following controversial slap comment

Val Chmerkovskiy had been issued with a suspension from Dancing with the Stars after he posted a TikTok that appeared to reference Will Smith’s 2022 Oscar slap against Chris Rock.

During the Tuesday, October 13, live episode of DWTS, judge Carrie Ann Inaba had made a comment about Chmerkovskiy’s wife, fellow pro Jenna Johnson, regarding her performance.

At the time, she had questioned whether the choreography included an illegal lift in her samba with her partner, celebrity Harry Shum Jr.

In response, Johnson, 32, and Inaba, 58, cleared the air over the question, but Chmerkovskiy took to social media and appeared to threaten to assault the ballroom judge.

Because of his post, BBC Studios suspended the dancer for one week, leaving his partner, dancer and actress Jenna Dewan, in need of a new pro to dance with.

Val Chmerkovskiy was suspended from DWTS and issued a statement (Instagram/valentin)

The BBC said in light of Chmerkovskiy’s suspension: “The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable. 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’s comment came after the show’s Super Bowl Night, where the dancer took to social media to write of the critique of his wife: “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.”

It appeared to reference Will Smith, who was the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor, and his majorly controversial slap at the 2022 Oscars against host, Rock, for joking about his wife (Jada Pinkett Smith).

Inaba then wrote on Thursday in a since-deleted message on Instagram, per Deadline: “So this is what we are doing now?”

In the post saw images of both Chmerkovskiy and Smith.

Dewan, per US Weekly, is set to dance with professional Alan Bersten next week in a performance that is dedicated to her mother.

Jenna Dewan now has a new partner (Photo by Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images)

In response to the suspension, Chmerkovskiy issued a statement, where he revealed his intent wasn’t what was put forward in the message.

Chmerkovskiy’s statement reads: “Hi everyone. As you may have seen in the news, I won’t be in the ballroom this week.

“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. 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.

“Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night. I’ll be watching and cheering everyone on!!”