Val Chmerkovskiy will not participate in Dancing With the Stars‘ upcoming Dedication Night episode after he made a controversial reference to Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap while critiquing Carrie Ann Inaba’s judging of his wife, Jenna Johnson.
“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,” BBC Studios, the production company behind Dancing With the Stars, said in a statement.
Chmerkovskiy is currently partnered with Jenna Dewan for the show’s 35th season; The Hollywood Reporter has learned Dewan will dance with Alan Bersten for the Oct. 20 episode. (Bersten was eliminated earlier this season after competing with Giada De Laurentiis.)
The professional dancer drew controversy this week for a reference he made to Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars while defending his wife, fellow pro Johnson, against comments Inaba made during the Super Bowl Night episode. In a TikTok Story posted on Wednesday, Chmerkovskiy wrote, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.”
After Johnson and her celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr. performed a samba to Usher’s “Yeah!,” Inaba told the mirrorball champion, “I think you need to put more content in your dances. Especially because [Harry’s] so good, I want to see you challenge yourself a little bit 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 brought out a piece of paper with the definition of lift, which she read during the live episode: “A lift is — I just need to say it — 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. Yeah, lift.”
Inaba responded to Chmerkovskiy’s Fresh Prince remarks on Instagram Thursday, writing “So this is what we are doing now?” while resharing a screenshot of a Page Six post featuring the dancer’s comment, alongside a split image of Smith and Chmerkovskiy.
He subsequently apologized to the longtime Dancing With the Stars judge in an Instagram statement on Thursday.
“I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent post,” the pro wrote on his Instagram Story Thursday. “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 of our internal DWTS family. I should have never 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.”
Chmerkovskiy’s Fresh Prince TikTok Story was posted on Wednesday and was live for at least six hours. One Reddit thread was flooded with theories that Chmerkovskiy’s post was “likely referring to when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock for making a comment about his wife,” adding that they took his comment as he allegedly “wanted to slap Carrie Ann for telling Jenna to step it up.” The story was subsequently deleted.
Dewan and Chmerkovskiy have consistently scored 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 removal 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.