Dancing With the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy joked on camera about keying judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s car weeks before a social media jab got him suspended for a week.
Page Six reported that the 40-year-old dancer made the car remark during an Entertainment Tonight chat on Sept. 29, well before BBC Studios benched him over a later post aimed at the same judge.
The sequence matters. First came the on-camera joke. Then came a tense Oct. 13 episode. Then came a deleted TikTok that referenced Will Smith’s infamous Oscars outburst. Then came the one-week suspension.
Chmerkovskiy was chatting about Inaba’s critique of his celebrity partner, Jenna Dewan, when he dropped the line about her parking spot.
"I know where [Inaba] parks her car."
He followed it with another remark that left little room for soft interpretation.
"I’m just saying, like, if she doesn’t want a different design..."
Dewan, 45, laughed it off at the time and said she planned to “work with” the judge’s advice on their samba. The moment aired as banter. Two weeks later, the temperature on the show was higher.
On the Oct. 13 episode, Inaba, 58, called out pro Jenna Johnson, Chmerkovskiy’s wife, for using a lift with partner Harry Shum Jr. Johnson pushed back on air. She was later reported to have cried backstage.
Chmerkovskiy defended the work he and Dewan had already done on earlier notes, saying the prior week’s feedback had been fair and addressed.
"[Dewan] is not wrong. Carrie Ann is right. I guess I was frustrated only because we did address that this week.... I thought that [Dewan] did it. So the feedback is correct, last week."
After that episode he took to TikTok and told followers they “almost [saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom] last night.” The post, since deleted, nodded at Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars slap of Chris Rock and the line about keeping his wife’s name out of the host’s mouth.
That social media shot is what triggered the show’s corporate response. It also fits a season already thick with ballroom drama, from Val Chmerkovskiy’s benching after the jab at Inaba to other cast storylines drawing national eyes.
Over the weekend, BBC Studios issued a statement announcing a week-long suspension. The company labeled the post “inappropriate” and said it fell short of what the show requires from people tied to the brand.
"The well-being of everyone who works on ‘Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable."
The studio added that Val’s social media post “does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show.”
Chmerkovskiy later apologized to Inaba on an Instagram Story and admitted to “making a poor decision.” Page Six reported that he handled the setback “gracefully,” though it took him “by surprise.” He will watch Tuesday’s “Dedication Night” episode from home while Alan Bernsten steps in as replacement partner.
Reps for Chmerkovskiy, Inaba, and ABC did not immediately respond to requests for comment when the suspension news broke. The silence left the studio’s statement as the clearest public standard on the table.
Viewers tracking Season 35’s full ballroom lineup now have another reminder that off-floor comments can cost floor time just as fast as a weak routine.
Live competition shows run on critique, ego, and quick clips that outlive the episode. A parking-lot joke on a press tour is one kind of risk. A Fresh Prince reference after your spouse is dressed down on national television is another. BBC Studios drew the line at the second one and enforced it with a benching, not a lecture.
The same season has already served plenty of emotional television, including Julia Stiles tearing up in Heath Ledger tribute rehearsals and special-event nights that pull in guest voices from outside the regular panel.
Chmerkovskiy remains a veteran pro with a long DWTS record and a wife still competing in the same ballroom. Dewan is still his partner when he returns. Inaba is still the judge handing out the scores. None of that changes the simple fact the studio put on paper: the post was treated as a values breach, and the penalty was real time off the floor.
Themed broadcasts keep rolling either way, including nights that expand the judging table, such as when Joe Buck joined the judges for Super Bowl Night. The machine does not pause for one pro’s bad week.
Other cast arcs continue in parallel, with names like Julia Stiles joining the Season 35 cast still driving their own headlines while this suspension plays out on a one-week clock.
Workplace rules do not vanish because the workplace has glitter and a live band. A public jab that leans on a violent awards-show meltdown is a choice; the show answered with a choice of its own.
