Val Chmerkovskiy will not participate in Dancing with the stars‘ next episode of Dedication Night after making a controversial reference to Will Smith’s infamous Oscar slap while criticizing Carrie Ann Inaba’s judgment of his wife, Jenna Johnson.
“The well-being of all those who work Dancing with the stars is not negotiable. Val’s social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected to the show. As a result, he will not take part in next week’s show,” BBC Studios, the production company behind Dancing with the starssaid in a statement.
Chmerkovskiy is currently partnered with Jenna Dewan for the series’ 35th season; The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Dewan will dance with Alan Bersten for the October 20 episode. (Bersten was eliminated earlier this season after competing with Giada De Laurentiis.)
Chmerkovskiy released a statement regarding his hiatus from Dancing with the stars Ballroom for Dedication Night, writing: “At a time when my instinct was to defend my wife, I made the poor decision to reference a meme to ‘keep my wife’s name’ out of the conversation, without thinking about what else that reference might imply, which was truly never my intention. Carrie Ann certainly did not deserve to be caught in the middle of my poor 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 doing,” he continued. “Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna and everyone DWTS lots of love to the family at the dedication evening. I will be watching and cheering everyone on!!
The professional dancer sparked controversy this week for a reference he made to Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars while defending his wife, fellow pro Johnson, from Inaba’s comments during the Super Bowl Night episode. In a TikTok Story posted Wednesday, Chmerkovskiy wrote, “You almost saw Fresh Prince walk into the ballroom last night. »
After Johnson and his famous partner Harry Shum Jr. performed a samba to “Yeah!” of Usher, Inaba told the disco ball champion: “I think you need to put more substance into your dances. Especially because (Harry) is so good, I want to see you challenge yourself a little more in the vein of what we’re looking for. And there was a lift.” Johnson responded to Inaba’s comments by asking: “A lift?
Inaba pulled out a piece of paper with the definition of a lift, which she read during the live episode: “A lift is – I just have to say this – any movement during which one of the dancers has both feet off the ground at the same time with the help or support of their partner. Yeah, lift.”
Inaba responded to Chmerkovskiy’s Fresh Prince remarks on Instagram on Thursday, writing, “So this is what we do now?” by sharing a screenshot of a Page six post containing the dancer’s comment, alongside a shared image of Smith and Chmerkovskiy.
He later apologized to longtime Dancing with the stars judge in a statement on Instagram Thursday.
“I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent message,” the pro wrote on his Instagram Story on Thursday. “I have reached out to Carrie Ann to apologize directly and personally, and I also want to apologize publicly because I understand that my words affect so many people outside of our internal network. DWTS family. I should never have made the reference I did and I deeply regret it. I recognize that I am fortunate to have a platform and to be a role model to some, and I need to treat this more carefully by actively stopping to think before posting to ensure that what I share is true to who I am and who I want to be for all of you.
Chmerkovskiy’s Fresh Prince TikTok story was posted on Wednesday and was live for at least six hours. A Reddit thread was flooded with theories that Chmerkovskiy’s post “probably referred to when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock for making a comment about his wife,” adding that they interpreted his comment as him “wanting to slap Carrie Ann for telling Jenna to step it up.” The story was later deleted.
Dewan and Chmerkovskiy have consistently performed well, rising to the top of the leaderboard during last week’s Super Bowl night. THR understands that Dewan is aware of her partner’s withdrawal for the week and has continued to be a true professional and respectful of the process. She is focused on paying tribute to her mother with her Dedication Night performance.
October 17, 12:55 p.m. Updated to include Chmerkovskiy’s statement.
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