DWTS Suspends Val Chmerkovskiy for Week Over Carrie Ann Inaba Slap Joke
The producer benches the dancer for seven days after he posted a TikTok referencing Will Smith's Oscars incident.
Headline and summary written by an AI model from the linked articles; not reviewed by a person. How this was made
The story so far
3 publishers have covered this in 5 articles since 14 Oct 2026. TV | Hollywood Reporter published first, on 14 October at 23:56 UTC; Variety followed 67h 34m later. The most recent article, from Deadline, appeared on 17 October at 19:30 UTC.
Outlets reporting it: TV | Hollywood Reporter (major outlet), Variety (major outlet), Deadline.
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How it unfolded
Every source in the order it published.
- TV | Hollywood Reporter‘DWTS’: Val Chmerkovskiy References Will Smith’s Oscars Slap While Defending Wife Jenna Johnson Amid Carrie Ann Inaba Criticism
- TV | Hollywood Reporter‘DWTS’ Pro Val Chmerkovskiy Apologizes to Carrie Ann Inaba for “Careless” Will Smith Oscars Slap Reference: “I Will Do Better”
- Variety‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pulls Val Chmerkovskiy After ‘Inappropriate’ Carrie Ann Inaba Slap Joke: ‘The Well-Being’ of Our Staff Is ‘Non-Negotiable’
- TV | Hollywood ReporterVal Chmerkovskiy Ousted From Next ‘DWTS’ Episode Amid Will Smith Oscars Slap Reference, Jenna Dewan to Dance With Alan Bersten
- DeadlineVal Chmerkovskiy Gets One-Week ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Suspension For Controversial TikTok Referencing Will Smith-Chris Rock Slap
Sources
Every article we clustered into this story. Headlines link to the publisher.
- ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pulls Val Chmerkovskiy After ‘Inappropriate’ Carrie Ann Inaba Slap Joke: ‘The Well-Being’ of Our Staff Is ‘Non-Negotiable’ Variety ·
- Val Chmerkovskiy Ousted From Next ‘DWTS’ Episode Amid Will Smith Oscars Slap Reference, Jenna Dewan to Dance With Alan Bersten TV | Hollywood Reporter ·
- ‘DWTS’ Pro Val Chmerkovskiy Apologizes to Carrie Ann Inaba for “Careless” Will Smith Oscars Slap Reference: “I Will Do Better” TV | Hollywood Reporter ·
- ‘DWTS’: Val Chmerkovskiy References Will Smith’s Oscars Slap While Defending Wife Jenna Johnson Amid Carrie Ann Inaba Criticism TV | Hollywood Reporter ·
- Val Chmerkovskiy Gets One-Week ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Suspension For Controversial TikTok Referencing Will Smith-Chris Rock Slap Deadline
In this story
- Val Chmerkovskiy
- Carrie Ann Inaba
- Dancing With the Stars
- BBC Studios