EXCLUSIVE: Val Chmerkovskiy Faces Career Setback After Carrie Ann Inaba Row
Val Chmerkovskiy faced a career setback following a heated dispute with Carrie Ann Inaba.
Nov. 9 2026, Published 8:00 a.m. ET
Dancing With the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy seemed to threaten judge Carrie Ann Inaba with a smackdown – a message that got him tossed from the show for a week.
RadarOnline.com can reveal, in a menacing TikTok video posted after the Oct. 13 episode of the competition show, the macho cha-cha-er, 40, told the beloved judge: "You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night," which many people believe implied he was going to slap Inaba.
Val Chmerkovskiy Suspended From 'DWTS' After Threatening Post
Val Chmerkovskiy was suspended from 'Dancing With the Stars' for a week over a controversial TikTok post about Carrie Ann Inaba.
The intimidating post came after Inaba, 58, accused Chmerkovskiy's wife and fellow pro, Jenna Johnson, 32, of including a lift in her samba.
Lifts are not permitted in the Brazilian dance, though they are in other dances.
The producers of the show quickly moved to chastise the Ukrainian-born Chmerkovskiy.
"[He] will not participate in next week's show," BBC Studios said in a statement. "The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing With the Stars is nonnegotiable. Val's social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show."
Chmerkovskiy quickly posted an apology on his Instagram Stories. "Hi everyone. 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."
Val Chmerkovskiy Admits 'Bad Judgment' in Carrie Ann Inaba Controversy
Inaba criticized Jenna Johnson and Harry Shum Jr. for including a lift in their samba routine.
Chmerkovskiy continued: "Carrie Ann certainly didn't deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was."
He also indicated he had reached out privately to Inaba to apologize.
The controversy stemmed from the Oct. 13 episode, whose theme was "Super Bowl Night," featuring routines set to iconic halftime show songs.
Jenna Dewan Gets Replacement Partner After Val Chmerkovskiy's Suspension
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Jenna Dewan partnered with Alan Bersten on 'Dancing With the Stars' following Chmerkovskiy's suspension.
After Johnson performed a samba with actor Harry Shum Jr., Inaba criticized the couple for including the move in their dance – though she still gave their performance an 8 out of 10.
Because of Chmerkovskiy's suspension, his partner, Jenna Dewan, danced with another pro, Alan Bersten, who had already been eliminated, on the Oct. 20 show.
