Dancing With the Stars Val Chmerkovskiy Deletes Controversial Comment After Fan Backlash

Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) pro dancer Val Chmerkovskiy is facing backlash from fans after posting a controversial comment on TikTok aimed at the show’s judges.

CTS has all the details about this wild story below.

Key Takeaways

• Val faces backlash over TikTok.
• His controversial comment was deleted.
• Jenna’s samba drew criticism.
• Carrie Ann questioned a dance lift.
• DWTS fans remain divided.

TikTok Video Scandal

Chmerkovskiy is under scrutiny thanks to a TikTok comment.

The DWTS pro dancer uploaded a video on the social media platform hours after his wife, Jenna Johnson, received criticism for her samba dance from Carrie Ann Inaba, one of the reality show’s judges.

Chmerkovskiy’s comment was, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.”

The comment has since been deleted, and some DWTS viewers understood the remark as a reference to Will Smith’s outburst against Oscars presenter Chris Rock during the 2022 Academy Awards.

Readers may recall that during the live show, Smith, who once starred in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, hopped onstage and slapped Rock after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Val and Jenna have been longtime fan favorites, and CTS previously covered the couple when Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy shared their exciting family news.

Some Reference

The TikTok was posted after Chmerkovskiy’s wife and her dance partner, Harry Shum Jr., received criticism from the judges, particularly Inaba, for their samba.

In fact, Inaba made it a point to read the ballroom definition of a “lift” out loud as she criticized Johnson for breaking the dance rule.

It’s important to note that Shum was lifted by two male dancers during their samba performance.

This all went down during the Tuesday, October 13 episode, and Chmerkovskiy was shaking his head and making faces as Inaba, along with Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, announced their scores.

Carrie Ann has been at the center of ballroom controversy before, including when DWTS faced cancellation buzz and judging drama during Season 34.

In another TikTok video that’s since gone viral, Chmerkovskiy commented, “[Put] some respect on her name. [Carrie Ann’s] tripping talking to her like that.”

DWTS fans are split over this controversy. Some viewed it as simply a joke and a man standing by his wife, while others felt he went too far.

The couple’s history on the competition has attracted plenty of attention, including when Val and Jenna’s Season 35 partnerships were announced.

Annemarie’s Take

I can understand Val wanting to defend his wife, especially if he felt Carrie Ann was being unfair. But bringing up the Fresh Prince right after Jenna was criticized was probably not the best choice of words!

The judges are there to critique the dances, and the pros aren’t always going to agree with them. Still, I can see why some fans think Val took things a little too far.

What are your thoughts on this DWTS controversy? Share your thoughts below.

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