The Internet Is Seriously Divided Over How "Dancing With The Stars" Punished A Male Pro Who Suggested He'd Slap A Female Coworker — And It's Sparking A Bigger Debate About Violence Against Women
Dancing With the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended from the show after making a controversial joke that appeared to suggest he'd slap judge Carrie Ann Inaba for criticizing his wife — and people are seriously divided over whether the punishment was too harsh, or nowhere near harsh enough.
It all started during the Oct. 13 episode, when Carrie Ann criticized Val's wife, fellow professional dancer Jenna Johnson, and her celebrity dance partner, actor Harry Shum Jr., for including what she considered an illegal lift in their samba routine.
"Like, I want to see you challenge yourself a little bit more in the vein of what we're looking for from you," Carrie Ann said, before adding, "And there was a lift."
Jenna questioned, "A lift?" but Carrie Ann pulled out the official rules and read them aloud: "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 Jenna graciously accepted Carrie Ann's feedback, Val wasn't happy with how the judge had spoken to his wife. He initially defended Jenna in the comments on a TikTok video, but then he shared a very controversial Instagram story...
For context, Val was referencing the infamous moment at the 2022 Oscars when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock after Chris made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Will then returned to his seat and shouted at Chris to keep his wife's name out of his mouth.
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Carrie Ann responded by sharing a screenshot of Val's Instagram post and wrote, "So this is what we are doing now?"
Two days later, DWTS's production company, BBC Studios, announced that Val would be suspended for one episode. In its statement, the company called his post inappropriate and emphasized that the well-being of everyone working on the show was non-negotiable.
After the suspension was announced, Val shared another statement, explaining that he'd intended to reference Will's famous "keep my wife's name" remark rather than the slap itself. He said he hadn't considered how the reference could be interpreted and insisted that he never intended to suggest violence toward Carrie Ann.
Val's suspension has sparked a divided reaction online, with some people defending him and arguing that he was clearly making a joke about standing up for his wife.
Former DWTS pro, Gleb Savchenko, has also publicly sided with Val, calling Carrie Ann's original judging decision "bullsh*t" and declaring himself "Team Val."
Others, however, were outraged and argued that referencing an infamous act of violence against a female judge was inappropriate regardless of whether it was "a joke."
As for the episode without Val, his celebrity dance partner, actor Jenna Dewan, still competed on Oct. 20, with fellow pro Alan Bersten temporarily stepping in.
So, what do you think? Was Val's post an obvious joke that got taken way too seriously, or was a one-week suspension actually too lenient for a comment of that nature? Share your thoughts in the comments below.