Val Chmerkovskiy was suspended from Dancing With the Stars following his “Oscar Slap” comment to judge Carrie Ann Inaba, and if you’re wondering when he’ll be back in the ballroom...we have answers.
According to The Sun’s reporting, Val will return to the ballroom on October 27, the date of the show’s Halloween-themed episode. Of course, that’s assuming Jenna Dewan makes it through tonight’s episode, where she’ll be dancing with Alan Bersten.
“As per Val’s conversations with the network, he fully plans to return to the show next week with his wonderful dance partner Jenna Dewan,” a source tells the outlet, adding that “He fully trusts Alan to manage this week and is grateful that he’s stepped in.”
Producer BBC Studios initially confirmed Val’s suspension in a statement, telling Deadline, “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.”
Meanwhile, Val said, “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 judgement, and I hate that she was.”