‘DWTS’ Jenna Johnson & Carrie Ann Inaba Share Sweet Moment After Val’s Controversy

Dancing With the Stars was plagued by controversy this past week, but Jenna Johnson and Carrie Ann Inaba were able to get past the noise during the October 20 live show. Johnson’s husband, Val Chmerkovskiy, was suspended from the episode because of a social media comment he made about Inaba, but the women seem to have no issue with one another.

In a behind-the-scenes clip posted on Reddit, Johnson approached Inaba at the judges’ table. She leaned down to hug Inaba and they embraced for several seconds. Inaba then stood up, held Johnson’s hands, and hugged her again.

Fans were touched by the moment, especially since it was Inaba’s critiques of Johnson’s previous dance that sparked Chmerkovskiy’s online outrage in the first place. On the October 13 episode, Inaba told Johnson, “I think you need to put more content in your dances.”

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She noted that Johnson’s Season 35 partner Harry Shum Jr. is “so good” and said she wants to see him “challenge” himself “a little bit more in the vein of what we’re looking for from you.” Inaba also called Johnson out for putting an illegal lift in the routine, which confused the pro. Moments later, when she was asked about the situation, Johnson said, “I totally understand. I thought it was if you lifted your partner, but I totally hear Carrie Ann. I will take it, sure.”

After taking some time to digest the comments, Johnson told Extra post-show, “She’s a judge for a reason. She’s gonna do her job, I’m gonna do mine. I’m gonna take the feedback.”

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However, Chmerkovskiy wasn’t happy with the critiques, and wrote on TikTok, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” which was an apparent reference to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022. Although he later clarified that he was only referencing Smith’s “keep my wife’s name out your mouth” comment, and not the slap, the damage had already been done, and BBC Studios suspended him from dancing on October 20 (his celeb partner, Jenna Dewan, danced with Alan Bersten instead).

Meanwhile, Johnson and Shum returned to the dance floor with a foxtrot dedicated to Shum’s wife, and they scored a 36/40 from the judges.

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