How ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Addressed Val Chmerkovskiy’s Absence After Suspension

If you haven’t been keeping up with the online discourse surrounding Dancing With the Stars this week, it likely came as a surprise that Val Chmerkovskiy wasn’t in the ballroom for the October 20 episode. Instead, his celeb partner, Jenna Dewan, danced with Alan Bersten for Dedication Night.

The show kicked off with host Alfonso Ribeiro quickly addressing the partner change, telling viewers, “As you can see, Alan Bersten is with Jenna Dewan because Val is not with us this week.”

Chmerkovskiy made waves for how he reacted to Carrie Ann Inaba‘s criticism of Jenna Johnson‘s choreography after last week’s episode. In one since-deleted social media post, he seemed to hint that he almost slapped the judge by referencing Will Smith‘s infamous Oscars moment in 2022. “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” Chmerkovskiy wrote, referring to Smith’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air character.

Disney/Christopher Willard

Although he subsequently apologized, BBC Studios announced on October 17 that he was being suspended from the next live show. “The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable,” DWTS’ production company said in a statement. “Val’s social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show.”

Chmerkovskiy clarified that he was not insinuating he was going to slap Inaba, writing in a statement, “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.”

Related

When Are Lifts Allowed on 'Dancing With the Stars?'

However, he also acknowledged that he supported the network’s decision and sent love to his partner and Inaba. “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,” Chmerkovskiy added. “Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night. I’ll be watching and cheering everyone on!”

Should Dewan make it through this week of the competition, Chmerkovskiy is expected to return for the October 27 episode.

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+