Dancing With The Stars Suspends Val Chmerkovskiy After 'Inappropriate' Social Media Post About Carrie Ann Inaba

One pro won't be "Dancing With the Stars" this week.

ABC has given a one-week suspension to Val Chmerkovskiy, the professional dancer who partners "The Rookie" star Jenna Dewan in the ABC competition's current season, TVLine has confirmed; he will not appear in the Tuesday, October 20 episode. Chmerkovskiy was yanked from the performance as a response to a social media post he made regarding judge Carrie Ann Inaba after the Oct. 13 episode.

In the post, Chmerkovskiy seemed to take issue with Inaba's criticism of a performance by his wife, fellow pro dancer Jenna Johnson, who partners "Grey's Anatomy" star Harry Shum Jr. "You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night," Chmerkovskiy posted to TikTok on Wednesday, seemingly referencing the 2022 Oscars telecast in which former "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star Will Smith slapped host Chris Rock after Rock made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. At the time, Will Smith also yelled to Rock that he should keep Jada Pinkett Smith's name "out your f***ing mouth."

"The well-being of everyone who works on 'Dancing with the Stars' is non-negotiable," BBC Studios, which produces the series, 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."

Chmerkovskiy's TikTok later was deleted. Inaba posted about it to Instagram later in the week, and Chmerkovskiy made an Instagram story in which he apologized "from the bottom of my heart" for the post, adding that he'd reached out to Inaba to apologize.

"I should have never made the reference that I did and I deeply regret it," he wrote.

'In a moment where my instinct was to defend my wife, I made a poor decision'

On Saturday, Val Chmerkovskiy posted another Instagram story in light of his suspension.

"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. Carrie Ann certainly didn't deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was."

He continued: "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!!"

Alan Bersten, who partnered TV chef Giada De Laurentiis before she was eliminated earlier this season, will dance with Dewan in Chmerkovskiy's absence.

TVLine has reached out to Inaba for comment.

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