Leave it to “Dancing With the Stars” to have more drama off the dance floor.
Pro dancer Val Chmerkovskiy has apologized to “DWTS” judge Carrie Ann Inaba after posting a TikTok referencing Will Smith’s infamous 2022 Oscars slap in response to her criticism of his wife, Jenna Johnson, who is also a pro dancer on the ABC reality show.
On Wednesday, Chmerkovskiy responded to a clip of Johnson and her celebrity partner, Harry Shum Jr., receiving their scores after Inaba called out a rule-breaking lift in their dance.
“Put some respect on her name. She’s trippin’ talking to her like that,” he wrote. Then, according to People, he escalated things further in a TikTok story, saying, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.”
Many interpreted the comment as suggesting he might take action similar to Smith, who stormed the Oscars stage and slapped host Chris Rock after Rock made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
Inaba soon saw the comment and made her own Instagram post thanking media outlets for bringing it to her attention, asking, “So this is what we are doing now?”
On Thursday, Chmerkovskiy took to his Instagram stories to issue an apology.
“I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent post,” the pro dance wrote. “I have reached out to Carrie Ann to apologize directly and personally, and I also want to apologize publicly as I understand my words affect so many outside of our internal ‘DWTS’ family. I should have never made the reference that I did and I deeply regret it.”
He continued: “I recognize that l am in a fortunate position to have a platform and to be a role model to some, and I need to treat that with more care by actively pausing to think before I post to ensure what I am sharing aligns with who l am, and who I want to be for you all. I am truly sorry to Carrie Ann, and everyone who I hurt with my careless post. I will do better moving forward.”
Representatives for Inaba did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
“Dancing with the Stars” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC and Disney+.
