Val Chmerkovskiy was out of the ballroom on Tuesday, Oct. 20, after being suspended from Dancing with the Stars over a social media post that referenced Will Smith's Oscars slap. Alfonso Ribeiro opened the live show by telling viewers, "...Val is not with us this week."
The absence mattered because Chmerkovskiy had been set to dance with Jenna Dewan in a Viennese waltz to "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers, with Dewan dedicating the routine to her mom, Nancy. Alan Bersten stepped in and later said on Instagram that he was honored to be stepping in and dancing with Dewan, calling her a light and saying it was beautiful to see her and her mom share the floor.
Chmerkovskiy confirmed his suspension on Oct. 17 and said he would still be "watching and cheering everyone on". In his apology, he said he had made a poor decision to reference a meme to "keep my wife's name" out of the conversation, said Carrie Ann Inaba did not deserve to get caught in the middle of his bad judgment, and added that he had already reached out to apologize directly and personally.
That apology did not stop the discipline. Studios called the post inappropriate and said it did not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show. It also said the well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable, making clear the suspension was treated as more than a passing public-relations problem.
The post had been aimed at Inaba after her critique of Jenna Johnson's performance on the prior episode, and Chmerkovskiy later said he did not intend for the reference to imply anything beyond his own reaction. What remains unresolved is how long the suspension will last, but for Tuesday's live broadcast the result was immediate: Dewan performed without her usual partner, and the show moved ahead without one of its regular professionals in the ballroom.
