Overview
- BBC Studios announced Saturday that Val Chmerkovskiy will be suspended for one week and will not appear on the Oct. 20 Dedication Night episode.
- The removal followed a now-deleted TikTok Story in which Chmerkovskiy wrote, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” a line widely read as referencing Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars slap.
- The social-media comment came after judge Carrie Ann Inaba read a definition of a lift while critiquing a Oct. 13 samba performed by Chmerkovskiy’s wife, Jenna Johnson, which touched off the public exchange.
- Chmerkovskiy issued public apologies, said he contacted Inaba directly, and asked fans to support the cast while he watches from the sidelines.
- Producers paired Jenna Dewan with former pro Alan Bersten for the Oct. 20 show, and outlets report this one-week suspension as the first known disciplinary benching of a DWTS professional, a move that could set a new standard for on- and off-air conduct.