Val Chmerkovskiy suspended

Pop culture · Heat 5.4 / 10 · 6 shows · 35m airtime

BBC Studios suspended Dancing with the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy for one week on October 17, 2026, the first pro suspension in the show's history, after he posted a photo of Will Smith's Oscar slap seemingly aimed at judge Carrie Ann Inaba. The post followed Inaba's critique of his wife Jenna Johnson's lift; Val deleted it, Inaba responded, and he apologized. Alan Bersten danced with Jenna during the suspension, and Gleb Savchenko said on live that Bersten is a good dancer for TV but not up to his level. Val returned to the ballroom ten days later and said he wants Inaba to feel empowered to speak her mind.

How 6 podcasts covered it

1. The TMZ Podcast, 2026-10-19 (14:21 to 18:55)
   Debates whether the suspension was too light
   Recaps the suspension and the Fresh Prince post, then debates whether a week off was too light or an overreaction. Stays inside the week's coverage, adding only a fan theory that Will Smith might appear during Dedication Week.
2. Chicks in the Office, 2026-10-19 (1:00:44 to 1:15:01)
   Adds Savchenko's jab at the replacement
   Recaps the benching and debates whether the punishment fits, then goes to Gleb Savchenko's on-the-record jab at replacement Alan Bersten - a new voice in the story that most coverage of the suspension left out.
   New angle: Gleb Savchenko said on live that Alan Bersten is a good dancer for TV but not up to his level.
3. Entertainment Tonight, 2026-10-20 (6:59 to 8:52)
   Recounts the first pro suspension
   Recounts the first pro suspension in Dancing with the Stars history, tracing the timeline from Carrie Ann Inaba's lift critique through Val Chmerkovskiy's deleted Will Smith slap post, Inaba's response, his apology and BBC Studios' Saturday suspension, with Alan Bersten stepping in for Jenna Johnson.
   New angle: BBC Studios suspended Val Chmerkovskiy for one week, the first pro suspension in Dancing with the Stars history.
4. No Filter With Zack Peter, 2026-10-20 (17:27 to 22:20)
   Calls the one-week ban an overreaction
   Recaps the Val Chmerkovskiy suspension and the Will Smith slap post, then spends most of the segment arguing the one-week ban is an overreaction and calling Carrie Ann Inaba a prude. Opinion and retelling, with a garbled partner name and no new development.
5. Juicy Scoop with Heather McDonald, 2026-10-22 (28:35 to 31:22)
   Retells the suspension and the deleted tweet
   Retells the suspension in a few minutes between other stories: the lift Carrie Ann Inaba criticized, the Will Smith slap joke, the deleted tweet and the apology. It stays inside the week's coverage, adding only the hosts' view that he should stay off social media.
6. Virtual Reali-Tea by Page Six, 2026-10-27 (3:17 to 5:47)
   Reacts to the lift scores and judging
   Reaction segment on the lift controversy and the judges' low scores. Abby Lee Miller, who attended a taping the week before, says she told Jenna Dewan she'd have given her a 10; Cathy Nesbitt-Stein says the lowballing is a reality-show device. Opinion, no new development.
7. Entertainment Tonight, 2026-10-29 (4:42 to 7:03)
   Reports Chmerkovskiy's return and his comments
   Covers Val Chmerkovskiy's return to the ballroom ten days after his suspension, with his own on-record comments about resolving the conflict and wanting Carrie Ann Inaba to feel empowered to speak her mind. Also notes Jenna Johnson and Harry Shum Jr.'s first perfect scores and the double elimination.
   New angle: Val returned to the ballroom ten days after the suspension and said he wants Carrie Ann Inaba to feel empowered to speak her mind.
8. Virtual Reali-Tea by Page Six, 2026-10-29 (6:37 to 8:11)
   Reacts to the suspension with a judge theory
   Dylan Efron weighs in on the judging controversy, arguing each judge has a niche and that Inaba's is emotion. Reaction and opinion on the suspension, with no new development in the case.