Jenna Dewan will reportedly perform on Oct. 20 with “Dancing With the Stars” pro Alan Bersten after her regular partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, was suspended for next week’s “Dedication Night” show.
According to Us Weekly, she’ll be performing a Viennese waltz set to “Unchained Melody,” dedicated to her mother, Nancy.
Bernsten was eliminated from the competition earlier in the season, along with partner Giada de Laurentiis.
The news comes just hours after Chmerkovskiy was suspended from the show for one week following a controversial social media post — referencing Will Smith’s Oscarsincident and seemingly aimed at judge Carrie Ann Inaba — that he insists was in defense of his wife, fellow “DWTS” pro Jenna Johnson.
“The well-being of everyone who works on ‘Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable,’” read a statement from producer BBC Studios, according to Deadline.
“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.”
Chmerkovskiy himself responded in a statement to Page Six acknowledging the suspension.
The pro dancer wrote that his “instinct” was to “defend” wife Jenna Johnson after judge Inaba’s criticism of her and Harry Shum Jr.’s performance on “Super Bowl Night.”
Chmerkovskiy wrote 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 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.”
He concluded, “Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night. I’ll be watching and cheering everyone on!!”
Inaba criticized Johnson for including a lift in her samba with Harry Shum Jr. during last week’s show, which Johnson appeared stunned by.
The audience fell quiet after Inaba read from a sheet of paper that “a lift is any movement during which one of the dancers has both feet off the floor at the same time with the assistance or support of their partner.”
While a source claimed Johnson cried backstage over the tense on-camera encounter, the dance pro told Julianne Hough that she “totally hear[d] Carrie Ann,” adding, “I will take it. Sure.”
But it was Chmerkovskiy’s social media reaction that caused controversy, with the dancer taking to TikTok to share the cryptic status, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night” — seemingly referencing Will Smith’s infamous 2022 Oscars encounterwith Chris Rock.
Chmerkovskiy took to another TikTok upload thead to write, “Puts some respect on her name. Shes trippin talking to her like that.”
In a post that’s seemingly since been deleted, Inaba thanked Page Six on Instagram for letting her know about Chmerkovskiy’s social media message, writing atop a photo of the coverage, “So this is what we are doing now?”
Chmerkovskiy took to Instagram Stories earlier this week to share that he’d personally reached out to the competition judge to “apologize directly and personally.”
The dancer wrote that he also wanted “to apologize publicly as I understand my words affect so many outside of our internal DWTS family.”
Chmerkovskiy stated that he acknowledged the need to “actively” pause “to think before I post to ensure what I am sharing aligns with who l am, and who I want to be for you all.”
Calling his since-deleted post “careless,” he said he was “truly sorry to Carrie Ann” and promised to “do better” in the future.
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