‘DWTS’: Val Reacts to Jenna & Alan’s Dance Amid Suspension

Alyssa NorwinWed, October 21, 2026 at 2:32 PM UTC

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JENNA DEWAN, ALAN BERSTEN - Disney/Eric McCandless

Valentin Chmerkovskiy was suspended from the Dancing With the Stars ballroom on October 20, but he was watching the show from home amid his absence. After his celeb partner, Jenna Dewan, took the dance floor with fill-in Alan Bersten, Chmerovskiy weighed in on social media.

“Perfection,” he commented on an Instagram post with photos from the dance. He also added a red heart emoji to his message.

Chmerkovskiy also posted on Bersten’s pre-show post and thanked the fellow pro for stepping in to replace him. “Thank you for stepping in and doing such an amazing job,” he wrote. “Jenna looks so good and most importantly happy. You’re my new favorite follow.” The last part of the comment was a reference to Chmerkovskiy not following Bersten on Instagram before this week.

Dewan and Bersten scored a 37/40 for their Dedication Night dance, earning 9s from Derek Hough, Kym Johnson Herjavec, and Bruno Tonioli, and a 10 from Carrie Ann Inaba. This tied them for second place on the leaderboard with Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, falling right behind Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov, who earned a 38/40.

At the end of the night, it was announced that there was no elimination on Dedication Night, prompting Chmerkovskiy to post, “Thanks,” with a red heart emoji, on his Instagram story. He is expected to return to the ballroom with Dewan for the October 27 episode.

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Chmerkovskiy was suspended after a social media post he shared following Inaba’s critiques of his wife, Jenna Johnson, on October 13. He wrote on his TikTok Story, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” which was an apparent reference to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. Although Chmerkovskiy later clarified that he was only referencing Smith’s “keep my wife’s name out your mouth” comment, he acknowledged that he didn’t “stop to think through what else that reference could imply.”

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When Will Val Chmerkovskiy Return to 'DWTS'?

BBC Studios pulled Chmerkovskiy from the ballroom, noting, “The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable. The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable.” The reason for his absence was not explained during the October 20 live show. Rather, Alfonso Ribeiro just said, “As you can see, Alan Bersten is with Jenna Dewan because Val is not with us this week.”

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”