Val Chmerkovskiy Suspended From 'DWTS' After Oscar Slap Remark, Who Will Replace The Pro Dancer?

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Val Chmerkovskiy won't be in the Dancing With the Stars ballroom next week. The pro dancer, who has been a rising name on the stage, was suspended following his comment earlier this week. The offensive social media post, despite his apology, was enough to get the pro dancer benched, marking the first pro suspension in the dancing show's history.

Val Chmerkovskiy pulled from Dancing With the Stars

Val Chmerkovskiy won't be seen in the upcoming episode of Dancing With the Stars. The pro dancer's suspension comes shortly after he made an offensive social media post. Val took to his Instagram Stories on October 17, 2026, and detailed his suspension in a lengthy post. He confirmed that he won't be seen in the Dedication Night episode of the dance show.

Val Chmerkovskiy being pulled from the ballroom marks the first pro suspension in Dancing With the Stars' history. For those unfamiliar, the post, which has since been deleted, referenced Will Smith's Oscars slap and reportedly responded to DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba's critique of his wife Jenna Johnson's latest performance with Harry Shum Jr. Val's post could be read as:

"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. Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was."

In the same post, Val Chmerkovskiy admitted he didn't mean to distract the audience from an important week or from the work his partner, Jenna Dewan, put into the performance. However, his instinct to defend his wife led him to make a poor decision. He concluded the post by asking everyone to send Carrie Ann and Jenna love and well wishes. He was quoted as 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. Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night. I’ll be watching and cheering everyone on!!”

Who will replace Val Chmerkovskiy in the upcoming episode of Dancing With the Stars?

With Val Chmerkovskiy benched for the week, Dancing With the Stars fans have been curious whether his partner will participate in the upcoming episode and, if so, with whom. As it turns out, even though Val is suspended, Jenna is set to compete with another pro dancer on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, in the reality show. According to Us, DWTS contestant Jenna Dewan will appear alongside Alan Bersten on the Dedication Night episode.

The Rookie star and her step-in pro partner will perform a Viennese waltz to The Righteous Brothers' Unchained Melody,  in honor of her mom, Nancy. For the unversed, Alan Bersten and his partner Giada De Laurentiis were eliminated earlier in DWTS Season 35. As for what happened, the suspension came after Val Chmerkovskiy, in his now-deleted post, wrote, "You almost saw the Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night."

The statement referenced Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards in March 2022, after Rock commented on the actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Following the post, BBC Studios issued an official statement. According to Deadline, the statement addressed what happened and stated that the well-being of everyone who worked on DWTS was non-negotiable. They further reflected on Val Chmerkovskiy's comment and said: 

"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."

Val Chmerkovskiy had previously apologized to Carrie Ann on October 15, 2026. The dancer had reached out to the DWTS judge and apologized for his comment and also issued a public apology explaining that he understood "words affect so many outside of our internal DWTS family." He accepted that he was in a fortunate position to have such a big platform and, being a role model to many, he should have been more cautious about his words. 

What are your thoughts on Val Chmerkovskiy's suspension from Dancing With the Stars? 

PC: Val Chmerkovskiy/IG

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