‘DWTS’: Val Chmerkovskiy Apologizes to Carrie Ann Inaba After Controversial Comment

Alyssa Norwin October 15, 2026, 9:10 pm

JENNA DEWAN, VALENTIN CHMERKOVSKIY — Disney/Christopher Willard

What To Know

Val Chmerkovskiy complained about Carrie Ann Inaba’s Dancing With the Stars critiques with a reference to Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars slap.
He publicly apologized for the controversial comment and revealed that he’s spoken to Inaba privately.
Inaba previously called Chmerkovskiy out for what he said.

Val Chmerkovskiy issued a public apology to Carrie Ann Inaba after she called him out for referencing Will Smith‘s 2022 Oscars slap in response to the judge critiquing Jenna Johnson‘s choreography on Dancing With the Stars.

“I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent post,” Chmerkovskiy wrote on his Instagram Story. “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.”

He continued, “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 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. I am truly sorry to Carrie Ann, and everyone who I hurt with my careless post. I will do better moving forward.”

Disney/Christopher Willard

Chmerkovskiy expressed his frustrations with Inaba in various social media comments after she said Johnson didn’t put enough content in her pro partner Harry Shum Jr.‘s dance this week. Inaba also docked a point from Johnson and Shum Jr.’s score because she saw an illegal lift in the routine.

Additionally, Chmerkovskiy posted (and later deleted) a TikTok Story that said, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” an apparent reference to when Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Will Smith slapped Chris Rock across the face at the Oscars in 2022. Inaba heard about the post and called Chmerkovskiy out on Instagram, writing, “So this is what we are doing now?”