Val Chmerkovskiy is explaining the protective instinct behind his controversial comment about Carrie Ann Inaba. The Dancing With the Stars pro was suspended after referencing Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap while defending his wife, Jenna Johnson.
Chmerkovskiy has since apologized and admitted the reference was a poor choice.
Val Chmerkovskiy cites defending wife Jenna Johnson to explain his reckless slap reference
The controversy began after Inaba criticized Johnson and her celebrity dance partner, Harry Shum Jr., during the October 13 episode. Inaba called out a lift in their routine and even read the definition of a lift while discussing the performance.
Chmerkovskiy then appeared to defend Johnson in comments on social media, saying Inaba was “trippin talking to her like that.” He later referenced the 2022 Oscars incident involving Smith and Chris Rock, writing, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.”
The comment was widely criticized because Smith famously slapped Rock onstage after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Inaba later responded to Chmerkovskiy’s post, writing, “So this is what we are doing now?”
Chmerkovskiy apologized to Inaba and acknowledged that he should not have made the reference. He also said he had reached out to her directly.
According to USA Today, following the backlash, BBC Studios announced that Chmerkovskiy would not participate in the following week’s episode. The company said his social media post was inappropriate. They said that it did not reflect the values or standards expected of people connected with the show.
Chmerkovskiy later addressed the suspension on Instagram. “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 wrote.
He added that he did not want to become a distraction from the episode or from his dance partner, Jenna Dewan.
While Chmerkovskiy will sit out the episode, Alan Bersten will step in as Dewan’s temporary partner.
