DWTS' Val Chmerkovskiy Apologizes to Jenna Dewan on Show
Jenna Dewan, Alan Bersten Share Rehearsal Update After Val Chmerkovskiy’s DWTS Suspension
Val Chmerkovskiy owned up to his misstep.
After the Dancing With the Stars pro was dealt a one-week suspension from the ABC competition for his comments about judge Carrie Ann Inaba, he returned to the ballroom on the Oct. 27 episode and apologized to partner Jenna Dewan.
"We are back together," Chmerkovskiy told her in rehearsal footage shown on the broadcast. "I am so sorry for all the chaos. You did not sign up for that, and I feel awful."
The Rookie star then hugged him, saying, "I forgive you. I missed you."
Still, Dewan—who shares daughter Everly, 13, with ex-husband Channing Tatum, and kids Callum, 6, and Rhiannon, 2, with fiancé Steve Kazee—didn’t miss a step as she partnered with Alan Bersten for Dedication Night Oct. 20 with a Viennese Waltz to The Righteous Brothers' “Unchained Melody,” which she dedicated to her mom Nancy Lee Bursch.
“I’ve been thinking so much on all the things my mom has taught me throughout my life,” the 45-year-old shared in an Oct. 18 Instagram post alongside photos of her mom through the years. “Not just in what she’s said, but in the way she’s lived and the example she’s always been for me.”
“To lead with kindness. To give people grace,” she continued. “To be strong without losing your softness. To keep your heart open, even when life doesn’t go quite the way you imagined.”
Indeed she carried on even after Chmerkovskiy was suspended from DWTS for one week after he alluded to the infamous Oscars moment between Will Smith and Chris Rock on his TikTok status following the awkward interaction between his wife Jenna Johnson and Inaba on the Oct. 13 episode.
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And while many interpreted the moment as a reference to Smith slapping Rock, Chmerkovskiy explained that was a misstep and he was instead referring to Smith’s comment of, “Keep my wife’s name out your f--king mouth.”
“As you may have seen in the news, I won't be in the ballroom this week,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories Oct. 17. “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.”
Eric McCandless/Disney
“Carrie Ann certainly didn't deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was,” the 40-year-old continued. “The last thing I want is to become a distraction from an important week or from the incredible work my dance partner Jenna Dewan is putting in.”
The three-time Mirrorball champ noted he didn’t want to throw off anyone’s routine, asking that everyone send love to Inaba, Dewan and “the whole DWTS family" during Dedication Night.
For a look at all the stars hoping to put their best foot forward on this season of Dancing With the Stars, keep reading.
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The Love Island U.K. alum is hoping her love for DWTS doesn't betray her as she manifested this experience.
"I have a vision board and I redo it every year," she told E! News in May. "This year is the first year that I stayed at home by myself on New Year's Eve. I did not go out at all. I made myself a bowl of pasta and a glass of red wine and I redid my vision board for the year. Dancing With the Stars was already on it from the year before. However, I added five more Dancing With the Stars on the board."
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