‘Dancing with the Stars’ drama: What’s going on with Val, Carrie Ann, & dedication night?

Watch'Dancing with the Stars' drama: What's going on with Val, Carrie Ann, & dedication night?by Elizabeth Stanton

7VIEW ALL PHOTOSDANCING WITH THE STARS – ABC's “Dancing with the Stars” stars Valentin Chmerkovskiy. (Disney/Andrew Eccles)Comment on this story0CommentShare storySharetopics: DancingVal ChmerkovskiyCarrie Ann InabaSuspensionDedication NightJenna DewanWill SmithTikTokThings have gotten heated in the ballroom and it’s not from the dancing.

DANCING WITH THE STARS – “Super Bowl Night” – It’s game time in the ballroom! The remaining 11 couples will perform songs made famous by some of the most iconic Super Bowl performances throughout the years. “Monday Night Football” broadcaster Joe Buck joins as a guest judge. TUESDAY, OCT. 13 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Christopher Willard) JENNA DEWAN, VALENTIN CHMERKOVSKIY

“DWTS” pro Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended for one week following comments about judge Carrie Ann Inaba that implied he wanted to slap her ala Will Smith at the 2022 Oscars.

After last week’s samba with Chmerkovskiy’s wife, pro dancer Jenna Johnson, and celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr., Inaba criticized them for an illegal lift, creating tension in the judging.

DANCING WITH THE STARS – “Super Bowl Night” – It’s game time in the ballroom! The remaining 11 couples will perform songs made famous by some of the most iconic Super Bowl performances throughout the years. “Monday Night Football” broadcaster Joe Buck joins as a guest judge. TUESDAY, OCT. 13 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Christopher Willard) JENNA JOHNSON, HARRY SHUM JR.

On his TikTok the next day, Chmerkovskiy made a since-deleted post that read “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.” He later confirmed he was referring to Will Smith’s infamous slapping of Chris Rock where he told the comedian to “keep my wife’s name out of your mouth.”

Chmerkovskiy issued an apology on Thursday, writing, "I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent post. I have reached out to Carrie Ann to apologize directly and personally, and I also want to apologize publicly as I understand my words affect so many outside of our internal ‘DWTS’ family."

DANCING WITH THE STARS – ABC's “Dancing “with the Stars stars Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Dewan. (Disney/Andrew Eccles)

BBC Studios, the production company behind the dance competition show, still handed down a one-week suspension to the pro.

“The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable,” BBC Studios said in a statement by E! News. “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.”

DANCING WITH THE STARS – “Super Bowl Night” – It’s game time in the ballroom! The remaining 11 couples will perform songs made famous by some of the most iconic Super Bowl performances throughout the years. “Monday Night Football” broadcaster Joe Buck joins as a guest judge. TUESDAY, OCT. 13 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Christopher Willard) CARRIE ANN INABA, DEREK HOUGH, JOE BUCK, BRUNO TONIOLI

Chmerkovskiy addressed his suspension in a statement in Instagram, writing, “As you may have seen in the news, I won't be in the ballroom this week. 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,” he continued. “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.”

DANCING WITH THE STARS – ABC's “Dancing with the Stars” stars Valentin Chmerkovskiy. (Disney/Andrew Eccles)

He concluded with another apology, writing, “Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole ‘DWTS’ family lots of love during Dedication Night. I'll be watching and cheering everyone on!!”

Dewan will dance this week with Alan Bersten, the pro dancer previously ousted with celeb partner Giada De Laurentiis. The “Rookie” star will be dedicating her Viennese Waltz set to “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers, to her mother, Nancy Lee Bursch.

DANCING WITH THE STARS – “Super Bowl Night” – It’s game time in the ballroom! The remaining 11 couples will perform songs made famous by some of the most iconic Super Bowl performances throughout the years. “Monday Night Football” broadcaster Joe Buck joins as a guest judge. TUESDAY, OCT. 13 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Christopher Willard) JENNA DEWAN, VALENTIN CHMERKOVSKIY

The mentioning of Will Smith’s slap added an extra layer of drama to the proceedings ahead of Dedication Night because “Fresh Prince” star Tatyana Ali is dedicating her dance to her late “Fresh Prince” co-star James Avery, who played her and “DWTS” host Alfonso Ribeiro’s dad on the show, better known to audiences and Smith’s character as Uncle Will.

Some have speculated that Smith might make an appearance in the ballroom on Tuesday night, but there has been no announcement or confirmation of those rumblings.