See more of our coverage in your search results.
“Dancing With the Stars” pro Alan Bersten expressed his excitement about filling in for Val Chmerkovskiy after the latter’s suspension.
“I am so honored to be stepping in and dancing with @jennadewan,” the internet personality wrote via Instagram Tuesday alongside a photo of himself practicing a Viennese waltz with partner Jenna Dewan.
“You are such a light and it’s so beautiful to see you and your mom share the floor,” he continued, referring to how the actress is honoring her mom, Nancy Bursch, for “Dedication Night.”
Chmerkovskiy, 40, took to the comments to share his gratitude and praise Bersten, 32, for stepping in at the last minute.
“Thank you for stepping in and doing such an amazing job,” he wrote. “Jenna looks so good and most importantly happy.”
The pro dancer also jokingly addressed rumors that he unfollowed Bersten after the latter was announced as his replacement over the weekend.
“You’re my new favorite follow,” Chmerkovskiy added with a winky face emoji, alluding to the fact he had never followed Bersten on the platform until recently.
Dewan, 45, also took to social media to vulnerably share her joy of sharing the spotlight with her mom on Tuesday night’s show.
“This is a truly timeless moment for my family 🤍,” the “Step Up” star captioned the post, featuring similar photos.
“So grateful I get to create this memory with my mom that we will share forever! And thank you also to Alan for stepping in and being amazing 🫶🏻.”
BBC Studios announced Saturday that Chmerkovskiy would sit out of the forthcoming episode of “DWTS” after the pro dancer shared a controversial TikTok status referencing Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars incident.
Chmerkovskiy wrote that viewers “almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom” following judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s critique of his wife Jenna Johnson’s performance during “Super Bowl Night” on Oct. 13.
Inaba harshly judged Johnson and Harry Shum Jr. that night for including a lift in their samba, and told the “Glee” alum to “put more content in [his] dances.”
“The well-being of everyone who works on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is non-negotiable,” the statement read. “Val’s social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show.”
Chmerkovskiy later addressed his absence, explaining that his “instinct” was to defend Johnson and he “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 wrote. “Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was.”
Chmerkovskiy and Johnson tied the knot in 2019 and share a 3-year-old son, Rome Valentin.