Jenna Dewan's DWTS Dedication Night Partner Revealed
DWTS' Val Chmerkovskiy Receives One-Week Suspension After Will Smith Oscars Slap Comment
Jenna Dewan will continue to put her best foot forward on Dancing With the Stars.
After the Step Up star’s pro dance partner Val Chmerkovskiy was suspended from the ABC show following his comments about judge Carrie Ann Inaba, E! News has learned that Alan Bersten will dance with Dewan on the Oct. 20 Dedication Night episode, in which she’ll honor her mother.
Chmerkovskiy was given a one-week suspension from the show after he appeared to reference Will Smith's 2022 Oscars slap in response to Inaba’s now-viral critique of wife Jenna Johnson's recent samba routine.
“The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable,” BBC Studios shared in an Oct. 17 statement obtained by E! News. “Val’s social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show. As a result, he will not participate in next week’s show.”
ICYMI, Inaba deducted points from Johnson and her partner Harry Shum Jr.’s samba performance during the Oct. 13 episode of the dance competition show for incorporating “a lift” into their routine, which is strictly prohibited in the Latin dance.
When Johnson, 32, questioned whether there was actually lift, Inaba, 58, grabbed a piece of paper and read the definition of the move as “any movement during which one of the dancers has both feet off the floor at the same time with the assistance or support of their partner.”
Photo by Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images
Following the tense exchange, Chmerkovskiy, 40, changed his TikTok status on Oct. 14 to read, "You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” according to screenshots circulating on social media.
Soon after, he issued a public apology to Inaba before addressing his suspension head-on.
“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.”
Photo by Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images
“Carrie Ann certainly didn't deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was,” Chmerkovskiy 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.”
He concluded his statement, “Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night. I'll be watching and cheering everyone on!!”
Keep reading for more about the Dancing With the Stars season 35 cast…
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Twenty years after starring in Step Up, the dancer is stepping up to the challenge.
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The Summer House star is prepping for her turn in the ballrom.
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The Love Island UK 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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