{"id":883022,"date":"2026-10-15T09:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T09:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/883022\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T09:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T09:48:10","slug":"dwts-val-references-will-smith-oscars-slap-amid-wife-jenna-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/883022\/","title":{"rendered":"DWTS: Val References Will Smith Oscars Slap Amid Wife Jenna Criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tDancing With the Stars<\/a> professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy has been defending his wife, fellow pro Jenna Johnson, online after judge Carrie Ann Inaba<\/a>\u2018s criticism of her choreography during Tuesday\u2019s Super Bowl Night<\/a>. However, one social media post particularly caught the attention of fans: a TikTok Story where Chmerkovskiy wrote, \u201cYou almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,\u201d a comment some believe is a reference to Will Smith infamously slapping Chris Rock<\/a> at the 2022 Oscars.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter Johnson and her celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr. performed a samba to Usher\u2019s \u201cYeah!,\u201d the judge told the mirrorball champion, \u201cI think you need to put more content in your dances. Especially because [Harry\u2019s] so good, I want to see you challenge yourself a little bit more in the vein of what we\u2019re looking for. And there was a lift.\u201d Johnson responded to Inaba\u2019s comments by asking, \u201cA lift?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tInaba brought out a piece of paper with the definition of lift, which she read during the live episode: \u201cA lift is \u2014 I just need to say it \u2014 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. Yeah, lift.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter the critiques, Shum Jr. and Johnson returned to the skybox, where they received their scores of 33\/40; each mainstay judge (Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli) gave the duo an eight, while guest judge Joe Buck gave them a nine. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn a now viral TikTok video<\/a> of Chmerkovskiy in the skybox behind Shum Jr. and Johnson while they received their scores, the three-time DWTS<\/a> winner can be seen shaking his head while the judges (except Buck) delivered their eight scores. <\/p>\n

\n\tChmerkovskiy took to the comments of that video on Tuesday, writing, \u201cPuts [sic] some respect on her name. Shes trippin talking to her like that.\u201d The pro did not call out Inaba by name, but she is the only female judge on the panel. <\/p>\n

\n\tChmerkovskiy\u2019s Fresh Prince TikTok Story was posted on Wednesday and had been live for six hours at the time of this story\u2019s publication. One Reddit<\/a> thread was flooded with theories that Chmerkovskiy\u2019s post was \u201clikely referring to when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock for making a comment about his wife,\u201d adding that they took his comment as he allegedly \u201cwanted to slap Carrie Ann for telling Jenna to step it up.\u201d The TikTok Story has since been deleted. <\/p>\n

\n\tSmith walked onto the Oscars stage while Rock was hosting in 2022 after he made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, starring in a G.I. Jane sequel. \u201cKeep my wife\u2019s name out of your fucking mouth!\u201d Smith infamously yelled from the crowd after he returned to his seat following the slap. <\/p>\n

\n\tOne TikTok user screenshotted Chmerkovskiy\u2019s TikTok Story and attached the photo on a comment of his most recent video<\/a> shared on Wednesday, a post of himself and celebrity partner Jenna Dewan from Super Bowl Night, writing, \u201cWhat do you mean by this.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Hollywood Reporter reached out to ABC<\/a> for comment. THR also reached out to Inaba and Chmerkovskiy\u2019s respective reps, but did not hear back by the time of publication. <\/p>\n

\n\tOct. 14, 6:17 p.m. Updated to reflect that Chmerkovskiy\u2019s TikTok Story was deleted after publication. <\/p>\n