DWTS: Val Chmerkovskiy apologizes after Will Smith comparison to Carrie Ann Inaba

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents DWTS: Val Chmerkovskiy apologizes after Will Smith comparison to Carrie Ann Inaba.

After a controversial social media post, "Dancing with the Stars" pro Val Chmerkovskiy has apologized to fellow judge Carrie Ann Inaba. Background: Chmerkovskiy had apparently alluded to Will Smith's infamous slap at the 2022 Oscars ceremony.

In his post, the dancer wrote that "You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night" – a direct reference to the moment when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock live on stage. Carrie Ann Inaba responded immediately with her own post, asking: "So this is what we are doing now?"

Facing the subsequent backlash on social media, Chmerkovskiy spoke up again and issued an apology. He called his wording "careless" and announced: "I will do better." As Hollywood Reporter and E! News report in agreement, he is taking responsibility for the incident.

What exactly happened during the "Dancing with the Stars" episode that triggered his post cannot be fully reconstructed from the available reports. Just Jared headlines that Chmerkovskiy had "apparently threatened to slap" Inaba – an escalation that goes beyond the "Fresh Prince" wording he himself quoted and incorporates the context of the show.

As of October 15, 2026; further details to follow.