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Longtime *Dancing With the Stars* pro Val Chmerkovskiy will sit out next week's show, producer BBC Studios said on Saturday, Oct. 17, after a social media post that many viewers read as a veiled slap threat against judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
The row started on the Oct. 13 episode, when Inaba criticized a routine by Chmerkovskiy's wife, fellow pro Jenna Johnson, and her partner Harry Shum Jr. over a lift, reading out the show's definition of a lift. The next day Chmerkovskiy posted on TikTok: "You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night", which was widely taken as a nod to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. He later deleted it, and Inaba responded on Instagram: "So this is what we are doing now?"
On Oct. 15 he apologized on Instagram, saying he had reached out to Inaba directly and "should never have made the reference." BBC Studios still pulled him for a week: "The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable. Val's social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show." According to Deadline and Parade, his celebrity partner Jenna Dewan is expected to dance on Tuesday, Oct. 20 without him.