Valentin Chmerkovskiy was suspended for one week after an Instagram post about the Will Smith Oscars slap, and Jenna Dewan husband coverage now centers on the change to her next performance. Studios called the post inappropriate and said he would not take part in next week's show.
The move affects Jenna Dewan directly: Alan Bersten was set to replace Chmerkovskiy as her professional dance partner on the next episode, scheduled for Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. That makes the change more than a social media penalty; it resets a live partnership days before airtime.
Oct. 13 lift dispute
On Oct. 13, Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson performed a samba to "Yeah!" by Usher ft. Lil Jon & Ludacris on Dancing With the Stars, and some of the dance troupe members hoisted Shum Jr. into the air during the routine. Carrie Ann Inaba said the performance included a lift, which is not allowed in traditional samba, and scored it 8 out of 10.
Johnson said she thought the lift rule applied only to the principal performers, not backup dancers. That dispute set the stage for the post that followed the next day, when Chmerkovskiy used Instagram to weigh in on the ruling and wrote, "You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night".
Studios on Saturday
Studios announced on Saturday that it was suspending him for one week, describing the well-being of everyone who works on Dancing With the Stars as non-negotiable. It also said, "Val's social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show."
The company described the punishment as the first suspension in Dancing With the Stars history, which is the clearest sign of how far the response went beyond a routine reprimand. For a live competition built on weekly pairings, the sanction changed the cast list immediately and put Jenna Dewan's slot in motion.
Jenna Dewan and Alan Bersten
Chmerkovskiy tried to pull the fight back toward intent, saying in an Instagram statement that he made a poor decision to reference a meme to "keep my wife's name" out of the conversation and that he never meant to imply more. He added, "Carrie Ann certainly didn't deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was," before saying, "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."
That leaves Alan Bersten with the next job in the ballroom and Dewan with a one-week reset in partner chemistry. The reader’s practical takeaway is simple: Chmerkovskiy is out for the next episode, Bersten is in, and the dispute that started with a lift rule has turned into an unprecedented discipline case for the show.
