Val Chmerkovskiy Says He Wants ‘Nothing But Love’ for Carrie Ann Inaba Following ‘DWTS’ Suspension, Apologizes to Jenna Dewan: ‘I Am So Sorry for All the Chaos’

Val Chmerkovskiy has returned to "Dancing With the Stars" following a one-week suspension. The suspension was triggered by an online comment Chmerkovskiy made in defense of his wife, Jenna Johnson, after judge Carrie Ann Inaba criticized a lift in Johnson's routine with Harry Shum Jr. for violating ballroom standards. Chmerkovskiy's remark, which suggested viewers "almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom," was widely interpreted as a reference to Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars slap.

According to TheWrap, Inaba addressed the controversy on Instagram, stating she had remained silent out of professional courtesy to competitors. She noted that she and Johnson "hugged it out" after the Super Bowl episode and described Johnson as an absolute professional. Inaba also added that she learned later that Johnson was "deeply hurt" and offered to speak with her.

Variety reports that Chmerkovskiy and Inaba have made amends, while Deadline noted that the two shared a professional moment and a hug on the set of the ABC competition.

Brief written by urgent.news from Variety, Deadline, TheWrap — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.