Val Chmerkovskiy has no problem with Alan Bersten taking the lead amid his suspension from Dancing With the Stars.
fully trusts Alan to manage this week and is grateful that he’s stepped in” to dance with celebrity partner Jenna Dewan after Chmerkovskiy was barred from participating in the upcoming Oct. 20 episode of the ABC series
Chmerkovskiy is expected to be back in the ballroom for Oct. 27’s Horror Movie Night episode. Indeed,tions with the network, he fully plans to return to the show next week with his wonderful dance partner Jenna Dewan.”
Chmerkovskiy is currently serving a one-week suspension from BBC Studios—the production company behind DWTS—over a recent social media comment he made toward judge Carrie Ann Inaba, who called out the dancer’s wife and fellow pro Jenna Johnson for what she considered was an illegal lift during a samba routine on the Oct. 13 episode.
Chmerkovskiy wrote on TikTok following Inaba’s critique that viewers “almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom,” leading many to believe he was referencing Will Smith‘s infamous Oscars 2022 slap.
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Did DWTS’ Carrie Ann Inaba File Complaint About Val Chmerkovskiy? The Truth About His Suspension
Though Chmerkovskiy later publicly and privately apologized to Inaba, BBC Studios issued a suspension against the dancer, telling E! in an Oct. 17 statement that 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,” the statement continued. “As a result, he will not participate in next week’s show.”
Since then, Chmerkovskiy has further explained his perspective, saying that he “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,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories Oct. 17. “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.”
Bersten was recently named as Chmerkovskiy’s temporary replacement amid his suspension. The 32-year-old was previously eliminated from the season 35 competition alongside Giada De Laurentiis on DWTS‘ Sept. 22 episode.
Now Bersten is getting into the swing of things with Dewan, 45, as the pair shared an update on their routine Oct. 19.
“We are dancing a Viennese Waltz to ‘Unchained Melody’ by The Righteous Brothers,” the Step Upactress said in a video posted on DWTS‘ social media pages. “So excited.”
For a complete guide on this season’s DWTS cast, read on.
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“I have a vision board and I redo it every year,” she told E! News in May. “This year is the first year that I stayed at home by myself on New Year’s Eve. I did not go out at all. I made myself a bowl of pasta and a glass of red wine and I redid my vision board for the year. Dancing With the Stars was already on it from the year before. However, I added five more Dancing With the Stars on the board.”
