The DWTS pro will miss Dedication Night on Tuesday, Oct. 20, after a TikTok post that seemed to reference Will Smith’s Oscars slap. Jenna Dewan will dance with Alan Bersten instead.
Val Chmerkovskiy won’t be in the ballroom this Tuesday.
The Dancing with the Stars pro has been suspended for one week, producer BBC Studios said on Saturday, Oct. 17, NBC News and Deadline reported. He’ll miss Dedication Night on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The reason is a TikTok post about judge Carrie Ann Inaba. People called it the first suspension of a pro in the show’s history.
Here’s the samba that started it all, from Dancing with the Stars:
What did Val Chmerkovskiy say about Carrie Ann Inaba?
He posted a TikTok status the day after the Oct. 13 episode. “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” Chmerkovskiy wrote in the since-deleted post, NBC News reported.
Plenty of fans read it as a nod to the 2022 Oscars. That’s when Will Smith walked onstage and slapped Chris Rock after a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, TheWrap noted.
Inaba saw the post and shared it on Instagram, questioning it, TheWrap reported.
Why was Val upset with Carrie Ann Inaba?
It started with a samba.
On the Oct. 13 show, Inaba said Chmerkovskiy’s wife, pro Jenna Johnson, and her partner, actor Harry Shum Jr., used a lift. Latin dances traditionally don’t allow them, NBC News said.
Inaba read the definition off a sheet of paper. A lift is “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,” she said.
Fellow judge Derek Hough sat in stunned silence before joking, “Dang, I feel like I got told off!” LaughingPlace reported.
What did BBC Studios say about the suspension?
Here’s the full statement, as reported by NBC News and 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.”
Did Val Chmerkovskiy apologize?
Twice. On Thursday, Oct. 15, he wrote on his Instagram story that he’d reached out to Inaba directly. “I should have never made the reference that I did and I deeply regret it,” he wrote, TheWrap reported.
After the suspension, he posted again. He said he made “a poor decision to reference a meme to ‘keep my wife’s name’ out of the conversation,” NBC News reported.
“Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was,” he added. Inaba hasn’t responded publicly to the apology or the suspension, according to NBC News.
Who will Jenna Dewan dance with on Dedication Night?
Alan Bersten. Chmerkovskiy’s celebrity partner, actor Jenna Dewan, will still compete, LaughingPlace reported. Bersten has been free since his partner, chef Giada De Laurentiis, was voted off earlier this season.
Dewan’s dance is dedicated to her mother, NBC News said. She and Chmerkovskiy have been near the top of the scoreboard most weeks, LaughingPlace noted.
Chmerkovskiy wished the cast well. “Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night,” he wrote. “I’ll be watching and cheering everyone on!!”
When will Val Chmerkovskiy be back on DWTS?
The suspension covers one episode. If Dewan survives this week’s vote, Chmerkovskiy will likely rejoin her for the Oct. 27 show, LaughingPlace reported.
That puts a lot on Dewan and Bersten. Fans can still vote for her as usual.
How can you watch Dancing with the Stars Dedication Night?
It airs live Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streams live on Disney+, according to LaughingPlace.
How many times has Val Chmerkovskiy won DWTS?
Three. He won Season 20 with Rumer Willis, Season 23 with Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez and Season 32 with Xochitl Gomez.
Johnson has two wins of her own, with figure skater Adam Rippon and with Bachelor star Joey Graziadei. That’s five Mirrorball trophies in one house.
Next week, though, one of those champions is watching from the couch.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
NBC News, Kimmy Yam and Christiana Corporon (Oct. 17, 2026), the statement, his posts and Dewan’s dance
Deadline, Greg Evans (Oct. 17, 2026), the suspension
TheWrap, Daren DeFrank (Oct. 16, 2026), the TikTok and his first apology
LaughingPlace (Oct. 17, 2026), Bersten, the return date and how to watch
People (Oct. 17, 2026), the first pro suspension
Dancing with the Stars on YouTube (Oct. 14, 2026), the samba
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