# DWTS suspends Val Chmerkovskiy for TikTok comments

> Val Chmerkovskiy suspended from DWTS after TikTok post referencing Will Smith's Oscars slap.
- Title: DWTS suspends Val Chmerkovskiy for TikTok comments · TheWrap
- Summary: Val Chmerkovskiy suspended from DWTS after TikTok post referencing Will Smith's Oscars slap. Dancing With the Stars suspended Val Chmerkovskiy for one week…
- Keywords: val chmerkovskiy, carrie ann inaba, dancing with the stars, tiktok, will smith, oscars, jenna dewan, dwts, entertainment, culture, business, suspends
- Source: TheWrap — https://thewrap.com/media-platforms/tv/dwts-suspends-val-chmerkovskiy-following-controversial-tiktok-comments
- Author: Daren DeFrank
- Published: 2026-10-17T19:46:49+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: val chmerkovskiy, carrie ann inaba, dancing with the stars, tiktok, will smith, oscars, jenna dewan, dwts, entertainment, culture, business
## DWTS suspends Val Chmerkovskiy
Dancing With the Stars suspended Val Chmerkovskiy for one week after he posted a TikTok referencing Will Smith's 2022 Oscars slap in response to judge Carrie Ann Inaba's criticism of his wife.
## Chmerkovskiy's TikTok post
Chmerkovskiy posted a TikTok referencing Will Smith's 2022 Oscars slap after Inaba criticized his wife, Jenna Johnson, a pro dancer on DWTS.
## Chmerkovskiy's apology
Chmerkovskiy apologized for referencing a meme to keep his wife's name out of the conversation without considering the implications.

> in a moment where my instinct was to defend my wife, i 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
## Key takeaway

Dancing With the Stars suspended Val Chmerkovskiy for one week after he posted a TikTok referencing Will Smith's 2022 Oscars slap in response to judge Carrie Ann Inaba's criticism of his wife.