Val Chmerkovskiy speaks out after 1-week suspension from 'Dancing with the Stars'

Val Chmerkovskiy has spoken out after being suspended for one week from Dancing with the Stars following backlash over a social media comment referencing a controversial moment involving Will Smith and Chris Rock.

The 40-year-old professional dancer faced criticism after seemingly threatening to slap judge Carrie Ann Inaba following her comments about his wife, Jenna Johnson, and her dance performance.

Chmerkovskiy wrote on social media, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” a remark widely interpreted as a reference to Smith slapping Rock at the 2022 Oscars.

He subsequently apologised for the comment.

On Saturday, October 17, news emerged that Chmerkovskiy would miss the Tuesday, October 20 episode of the competition.

Addressing the suspension in a statement shared with Just Jared, he acknowledged his mistake.

“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.

Chmerkovskiy also apologised to Inaba, adding, “Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was.”

His absence will not prevent his dance partner, actress Jenna Dewan, from competing. For Dedication Night, she will perform with temporary partner Alan Bersten in a routine dedicated to her mother.

Dancing with the Stars airs live on Tuesdays at 8pm ET on ABC and Disney+.