Val Chmerkovskiy Suspended From Dancing With the Stars
Update: Jenna Dewan will officially be paired with Alan Bersten, who was paired with Giada de Laurentiis earlier this season.
Val Chmerkovskiy will not be participating in this coming week’s Dancing With the Stars episode, TVGrapevine has learned.
The news comes days after he posted a controversial comment in defense of his wife, Jenna Johnson, threatening to go ‘Fresh Prince’ in the ballroom. This is in reference to the infamous Will Smith/Chris Rock slap that took place at the 2022 Oscars.
Val is currently partnered with actress Jenna Dewan.
“The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable,” a spokesperson for BBC Studios 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. As a result, he will not participate in next week’s show.”
The controversy began when Jenna was reprimanded for a lift during her Super Bowl dance with Harry Shum, Jr.
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba claimed that the couple added a lift to their routine, which is forbidden in the samba.
When Jenna questioned the critique, Carrie Ann gave the definition of a lift, saying, “a lift is — I just need to say it — 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.”
Val has since apologized for his comments and shared his reaction to his suspension to Us Weekly:
“Hi everyone. As you may have seen in the news, I won’t be in the ballroom this week. 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, which was genuinely never my intention,” he told Us in a statement. “Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was.”
“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. Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night. I’ll be watching and cheering everyone on,” he concluded.
Jenna’s new partner has not been officially announced as of press time, although rumor has it that she will be with Alan Bersten.
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