Val Chmerkovskiy Faces Backlash for Alleged Threat to DWTS Judge
Dancing with the Stars professional Val Chmerkovskiy is under fire after posting a cryptic message on social media, which many interpreted as a threat to judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
Val Chmerkovskiy is facing intense online criticism after allegedly threatening to slap "Dancing with the Stars" judge Carrie Ann Inaba. The controversy stems from Chmerkovskiy's reaction to Inaba's critique of his wife, Jenna Johnson, and her celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr.'s performance on the show.
During the recent episode, Inaba pointed out that Johnson and Shum's routine included a "lift," which is not permitted in the traditional samba. "If that was a halftime show, amazing, I loved every minute of it. But it’s a samba," Inaba stated, before clarifying the rule regarding lifts. She ultimately awarded the pair a score of eight.
Chmerkovskiy, visibly angered by the critique, later shared a now-deleted post to his TikTok Story that read, "You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night." This comment led many fans to draw a parallel to Will Smith's 2022 Oscars incident, where Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock. "I definitely think he's trying to reference the Will Smith slap thing... it's gross on so many levels," one user commented on X (formerly Twitter).
Fans expressed their outrage across social media platforms. "Absolutely nothing that happened last night warrants this reaction. Who the f**k does he think he is?" read one post. Another user stated, "A man saying this towards a woman, even as a 'joke,' will never ever sit right with me."
Inaba herself addressed Chmerkovskiy's comment by posting a screenshot of an article about it on Instagram, with the caption, "So this is what we are doing now?"
Chmerkovskiy also commented on a video of the performance on TikTok, writing, "Put some respect on [my wife's] name," and added, "She's trippin' talking to her like that." The Daily Mail has reached out to Chmerkovskiy for comment.