Val Chmerkovskiy has been temporarily suspended from Dancing with the Stars after sharing an offensive post on social media.
The 40-year-old ballroom dancer - who is partnered with Jenna Dewan - has confirmed that he'll be sitting out the upcoming Dedication Night episode, after he referenced Will Smith's infamous Oscars slap in a recent social media post.
Val - whose original post was a response to Carrie Ann Inaba's critique of his wife Jenna Johnson‘s latest performance on Dancing with the Stars - wrote on Instagram: "Hi everyone. As you may have seen in the news, I won't be in the ballroom this week.
"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 hated 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 putting in. Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DTWS family lots of love during Dedication Night. I’ll be watching and cheering everyone on!! [heart emoji] (sic)"
Val's suspension came after he referenced Will slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022, when the stand-up comedian joked about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
In a now-deleted post, Val said: "You almost saw the Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night."
BBC Studios, which produces the TV show, previously described Val's social media post as "inappropriate".
In a statement obtained by People, the broadcaster said: "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."