Val Chmerkovskiy Suspended From 'Dancing With the Stars' for One Week
The suspension follows a controversial social media post referencing Will Smith's Oscar slap.
Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended from "Dancing With the Stars" for one week due to a controversial social media post that referenced Will Smith's infamous Oscars slap. BBC Studios, the show's producer, issued a statement indicating that the post did not align with the show's expected values.
"The well-being of everyone who works on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is non-negotiable," the statement read, according to Deadline. "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."
Chmerkovskiy released a statement acknowledging the decision. "As you may have seen in the news, I won’t be in the ballroom this week," he wrote. "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 continued, "Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was." Chmerkovskiy also expressed concern about becoming a distraction to his dance partner, Jenna Dewan, and the show. "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," he concluded. "Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night. I’ll be watching and cheering everyone on!!"
