Dancing with the Stars has benched one of its biggest pros. The Val Chmerkovskiy DWTS suspension — a one-week penalty announced October 17 — means he will miss Dedication Night on October 20. So his celebrity partner, actress Jenna Dewan, will dance with someone else instead.
The punishment comes down to a deleted social media post. After judge Carrie Ann Inaba criticized his wife Jenna Johnson’s samba on October 13, Val wrote that viewers had “almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom.” Many, however, took it as a nod to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. Inaba fired back on Instagram: “So this is what we’re doing now?”
BBC Studios, which produces the show, disagreed. Per TheWrap’s reporting, the company called the post “inappropriate” and said, “The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable.” As a result, Val “will not participate in next week’s show.”
Val has apologized. He called it “a poor decision” and said the darker reading was “genuinely never my intention.” In addition, he said Inaba “certainly didn’t deserve” to be dragged into it.
What led to the Val Chmerkovskiy DWTS suspension: a timeline
Here is how one post became a suspension:
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Oct 13 | Inaba criticizes Johnson and Harry Shum Jr.’s samba for an illegal “lift” on Super Bowl Night. |
| Oct 14 | Val posts — then deletes — the “Fresh Prince” comment. Inaba answers on Instagram. |
| Oct 15 | Val’s brother Maks calls out Inaba’s judging on The Viall Files, demanding “consistency”. |
| Oct 16–17 | Val issues a public apology. BBC Studios announces the one-week suspension. |
| Oct 20 | Dedication Night airs. Dewan dances with Alan Bersten instead of Val. |
| Oct 27 | Val is expected back — unless the show extends the punishment. |
The lift rule at the center of the Val Chmerkovskiy controversy
So what is the actual rule? Inaba said the samba had a lift, which the dance forbids. Her definition: a lift is any move where a dancer leaves the floor with a partner’s help. But Shum was lifted by two troupe dancers — not by Johnson. That detail is the whole fight.
Maks Chmerkovskiy pounced. On The Viall Files, he argued the rulebook covers couples dancing alone. “There’s no ‘three other people’ in the rulebook,” he said. For example, he called a troupe-assisted backflip “creative staging,” not a lift. His verdict: “Carrie Ann, get some consistency.”
Meanwhile, this is not Inaba and Johnson’s first lift debate. A resurfaced clip shows a similar clash from 2019. Johnson herself stayed classy, telling Extra that Inaba will “do her job” while she takes the feedback. And Shum tried to cool things down online: “Everyone take a deep breath!”
What the Val Chmerkovskiy DWTS suspension means for Dedication Night
The fallout lands hardest on Jenna Dewan. The 45-year-old The Rookie star will dance with Alan Bersten on October 20. They will perform a Viennese waltz to “Unchained Melody,” dedicated to her mother, Nancy. Bersten, 32, is a quick study, because he lost his own partner, chef Giada De Laurentiis, in a Week 2 elimination.
Dedication Night is the season’s emotional centerpiece: ten couples honor the people and places that shaped them, with former pro Kym Johnson as guest judge. It airs live Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, then streams on Hulu.
Here is the full Dedication Night lineup, as revealed by Just Jared:
| Couple | Dance | Song | Dedication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Olson & Emma Slater | Quickstep | “L-O-V-E” | His mom, Laura. |
| Julia Stiles & Ezra Sosa | Contemporary | “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” | Heath Ledger. |
| Harry Shum Jr. & Jenna Johnson | Foxtrot | “Stop This Train” | His wife, Shelby. |
| Tyler Cameron & Sharna Burgess | Contemporary | “Supermarket Flowers” | Mothers. |
| Maura Higgins & Mark Ballas | Paso Doble | “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” | Ireland. |
| Amber Glenn & Pasha Pashkov | Contemporary | “Breathe Me” | Her sister, Brooke. |
| Tatyana Ali & Jan Ravnik | Viennese Waltz | “(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am” | James Avery. |
| Ezra Frech & Daniella Karagach | Contemporary | “Bloodline” | His mom, Bahar. |
| Connor Wood & Rylee Arnold | Viennese Waltz | “Piano Man” | His dad, Pete. |
| Jenna Dewan & Alan Bersten | Viennese Waltz | “Unchained Melody” | Her mom, Nancy. |
Who is Val Chmerkovskiy? The DWTS veteran behind the suspension
Val has been a DWTS fixture for years — Maks’s younger brother, married to Johnson since 2019. So the suspension stings twice: he loses stage time, and the drama centers on his wife. Parade has the full breakdown of Maks’s podcast comments.
What’s next after the Val Chmerkovskiy DWTS suspension
First, this is a one-week benching — not a firing. Val should return October 27 unless BBC Studios says otherwise. Second, Tuesday is now a pressure test for Dewan.
Finally, the saga reopened an old DWTS argument about the rulebook. Because of one disputed call, a pro lost a week of work — and season 35 got its wildest storyline yet.
For more TV shakeups, see our Baywatch 2027 reboot trailer coverage and the Melissa McCarthy casting battle behind Mike & Molly. Reality fans can also catch Love Is Blind’s latest reveal.
