DWTS Pro Val Chmerkovskiy Suspended Over Slap Joke

“Dancing with the Stars” professional Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended from the show for one week after a social media post was interpreted as a threat toward judge Carrie Ann Inaba following a low score given to his wife, Jenna Johnson.

Following Tuesday’s episode, Chmerkovskiy posted a message on his TikTok Story that was later deleted. “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” he wrote.

Although Chmerkovskiy did not explain the reference, viewers widely connected it to Will Smith’s infamous 2023 Oscars slap of comedian Chris Rock. Smith struck Rock after the comedian joked about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

The post triggered a wave of criticism, prompting Chmerkovskiy, 40, to apologize publicly. BBC Studios confirmed on Saturday that he would miss one episode, making him the first professional dancer 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.”

Responding through his representative to Our News Outlet, Chmerkovskiy said his first instinct had been to defend his wife, but acknowledged that he made “a poor decision” because of “bad judgment.”

“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,” he said.

During the 2023 Oscars incident, Smith shouted at Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!” before walking onto the stage and striking the comedian.

Chmerkovskiy added that Inaba “certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle” of his mistake. “I hate that she was,” he said, adding that he did not want to distract from the upcoming episode or the work being done by his dance partner Jenna Dewan.

He closed the statement by sending love to Inaba, Jenna and the entire “DWTS” team ahead of Dedication Night, writing that he would be watching and cheering them on.

People close to Chmerkovskiy told Our News Outlet that the backlash began almost immediately after the TikTok Story was posted.

Although the professional dancer removed the post quickly, sources said screenshots and discussion of the message had already spread. The comments also reached Inaba, according to insiders.

One insider claimed Inaba was furious and viewed the message as a threat. “She was not going to let that s*** go,” the source said, adding that the judge wanted both an apology and meaningful consequences.

According to sources, Chmerkovskiy apologized directly to Inaba, but the judge reportedly felt the apology did not resolve the situation.

“The producers knew that they had to meet in the middle and punish [Val],” an insider at “Dancing with the Stars” told Our News Outlet. “She wanted more, but that’s what they ended up doing.”

A source close to Chmerkovskiy insisted that he would never act violently toward Inaba or anyone else.

“Val is a lover, not a fighter,” the source told Our News Outlet. “He wouldn’t slap Carrie, I know that for a fact. He was doing trash talk, like sports—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 Our News Outlet 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 Our News Outlet 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.’

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.’

Our News Outlet 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. ❤️’

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.’