Val Chmerkovskiy Apologizes to Carrie Ann Inaba Over Deleted Post

Val Chmerkovskiy has publicly apologized to Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba after a deleted social-media post drew criticism for appearing to invoke Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars slap.

The dispute followed the Oct. 13 episode of the ABC competition. Inaba challenged a lift in the samba performed by Chmerkovskiy’s wife, professional dancer Jenna Johnson, and her celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr. Johnson questioned the call in the ballroom, while Inaba read the show’s definition of a lift to explain her decision.

What prompted the apology

After the episode, Chmerkovskiy changed his TikTok status to suggest viewers had nearly seen the “Fresh Prince” enter the ballroom, according to screenshots described by E! News and Just Jared. The post was widely interpreted as a reference to Smith striking Chris Rock at the Academy Awards and was later removed.

In a statement posted to Instagram Stories on Oct. 15, Chmerkovskiy said he had contacted Inaba privately and wanted to apologize in public as well. He acknowledged that the reference should not have been made, said he regretted the effect of his words and promised to be more deliberate about what he shares with his audience.

The dancer’s statement directly addressed both Inaba and others who were hurt by the post. It also framed the episode as a failure to use his public platform responsibly rather than as a defense of the original message.

Johnson accepted the judges’ feedback

Johnson, meanwhile, did not reject the panel’s role after the show. She told E! News that she understood the criticism and that feedback is part of the competition. That response put some distance between the technical disagreement over the routine and the controversy that followed online.

The sequence moved quickly from an on-air judging dispute to a wider conversation about how threats and violent references can land, even when posted as a joke or a defense of a family member. Chmerkovskiy’s public apology now leaves the focus on whether the ballroom can move past the exchange when the competition returns.