After "Dancing With The Stars" Pro Val Chmerkovskiy Was Controversially Suspended From The Show Over A "Joke" About Slapping A Female Judge, Here's How It Was Finally Addressed On Last Night's Episode

Posted on Oct 21, 2026 UTC

After Dancing With the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy was suspended for making a controversial remark about female judge Carrie Ann Inaba, viewers were curious to see how the show would address his absence. Well, Tuesday night's episode has officially aired, and the show's VERY brief acknowledgment of the situation is getting people talking.

For anyone who missed it, Val was suspended for one week after sharing a since-deleted social media post saying viewers "almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night," seemingly referencing Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. You can read more about why he said this and the public's reaction here.

Val subsequently apologized, and Alan Bersten was brought in to replace him as Jenna Dewan's professional dance partner for the show's highly anticipated Dedication Night on Oct. 20. Given how heated the controversy had become, fans were understandably curious about how the show would handle his absence.

But after introducing the contestants, co-host Alfonso Ribeiro simply announced, "As you can see, Alan Bersten is with Jenna Dewan because Val is not with us this week."

And that was literally it. While Alan later briefly acknowledged the circumstances in his rehearsal clip, telling Jenna, "First and foremost, I know it's a really unusual situation, but I feel so honored to step in and help you this week," neither acknowledgment actually explained anything.

And there is another point that makes this whole situation even juicier: Jenna and Alan went on to earn an impressive score of 37 out of 40 for their Viennese waltz, with Carrie Ann giving them a perfect 10. And viewers definitely felt the same way...

But of course, some viewers also had plenty to say about the show's decision to keep Val's suspension so vague:

Other people questioned why Alfonso was given responsibility for making the announcement, particularly given that he played Will Smith's cousin on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air...

Other viewers also made an interesting point: Not everyone watching Dancing With the Stars follows the show's drama on social media, so it may have been important to speak out on it.

However, not everyone thought the brief acknowledgment was a problem. They argued that Dedication Night was meant to celebrate the contestants and their loved ones, not dwell on Val's controversy:

So, what do you think? Should Dancing With the Stars have directly addressed Val's suspension, or was the brief acknowledgment enough? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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