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Val Chmerkovskiy is waltzing his way through his “Dancing with the Stars” suspension.
“Val will be watching the show tomorrow night at home,” a source close to production exclusively told Page Six.
“The suspension took Val by surprise, but he took it gracefully and he understood. He fully expects to be back next week for the live show.”
The professional dancer got himself into trouble after a controversial social media post where he clapped back at show judge Carrie Ann Inaba for giving his wife, fellow pro Jenna Johnson, tough on-air criticism.
“You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” Chmerkovskiy posted on social media.
Chmerkovskiy quickly deleted the post, which was a reference to when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars for talking about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, on stage, but the damage was done.
An additional production source added how well-liked Chmerkovskiy is, as he has danced on the hit ABC reality series for 15 years.
“He’s always been the golden child of that show and franchise,” said the source. “The show felt like they had to do this.”
Chmerkovskiy took to social media again to issue a public apology to Inaba, saying he would, “do better moving forward,” but it wasn’t enough.
“The well-being of everyone who works on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is non-negotiable,” a statement from producers at BBC Productions shared. “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.”
The show announced Alan Bersten would step in to dance with Chmerkovskiy’s partner, Jenna Dewan, in his absence.
“Val has sent lots of support to Jenna [Dewan] amid everything that’s going on and he knows that she and Alan are going to crush it this week,” the first source added. “He’s grateful to Alan for stepping in.”
Chmerkovskiy released another statement the next day addressing his punishment.
“Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was,” it read. “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.”
Page Six can confirm Inaba did go to HR to complain about the pro dancer’s comment.
A rep for Inaba, Chmerkovskiy and ABC did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment.