‘My instinct was to defend my wife’: Val Chmerkovskiy speaks out after being suspended from DWTS
It's the first time a pro has ever been suspended in the history of the show
Val Chmerkovskiy has spoken out after being suspended from Dancing With The Stars for one week because of the comments he made towards judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
During the most recent episode, Jenna and Harry Shum Jr. performed the samba, with judge Carrie Ann Inaba telling Jenna: “I think you need to put more content in your dances. Especially because [Harry’s] so good, I want to see you challenge yourself a little bit more in the vein of what we’re looking for. And there was a lift.”
In the background when Jenna and Harry were receiving their feedback and scores, Val could be seen n the background shaking his head after Carrie Ann scored Jenna and Harry Shum Jr. with an eight. The video was reshared on TikTok, with Val taking to the comment section to publicly air his grievances with the DWTS judge.
He commented: “Put some respect on her name. Shes’ trippin talking to her like that.” In a now deleted TikTok story, he also wrote: “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.” This has led some to believe he’s referencing the Will Smith slap, and are concerned that Val was trying to insinuate that he was close to slapping Carrie Ann Inaba during DWTS. The TikTok Story has since been deleted, and Val released an apology statement shortly afterwards.
Val Chmerkovskiy released his own statement following the news of his Dancing With The Stars suspension, saying: “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 said. “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!!”
BBC Studios, the company behind DWTS, also added in a statement: “The well-being of everyone who works on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is non-negotiable. 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.”
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