Carrie Ann Inaba Finally Explains Val Chmerkovskiy's DWTS Suspension Silence

Carrie Ann Inaba has broken her silence on Val Chmerkovskiy’s suspension, and her reasoning makes a lot of sense. In Instagram comments Sunday, the longtime DWTS judge said she stayed quiet out of professional courtesy to the competing dancers, noting that standards and practices are designed to keep judges and pros separated. The whole controversy traces back to an October 13 moment on“Super Bowl Night,”when Inaba clashed with pro Jenna Johnson over a lift in Johnson’s samba with Harry Shum Jr. Johnson is married to Chmerkovskiy, which turned a simple judging call into a full-blown storyline.

According to Inaba, she and Johnson hugged it out after the show, and she reached out to offer a conversation anytime after learning Johnson was deeply hurt. In a second comment, she praised Johnson as an“absolute professional”and said“two women worked through the moment.”Meanwhile, Chmerkovskiy was suspended over a since-deleted TikTok referencing Will Smith’s Oscars slap, which kept him out of“Dedication Night.”His suspension was lifted October 21.

Chmerkovskiy returns to the ballroom Tuesday for“Horror Movie Night,”and everyone in the fandom is watching to see how the show handles the moment. Will the lift rule come up again? Do we get a confrontation on live TV? Find out tonight. Do you think Val’s suspension was fair, or was the TikTok punishment a step too far? Drop your take in the comments.