Val Chmerkovskiy is grateful his “Dancing With the Stars” partner got to dance with someone like Alan Bersten while the Ukrainian dancer serves his week-long suspension.
“Thank you for stepping up and doing such an amazing job,” he commented on Bersten’s Instagram post Tuesday.
“Jenna looks so beautiful and above all happy. You are my new favorite đ,” Chmerkovskiy added.
The choreographer, 40, also took to his Instagram Stories writing, “Thank you â¤ď¸” and urged his followers to vote for Dewan by texting “Jenna to 21523 ten times.”
On October 17, Chmerkovskiy was suspended for a week after his controversial social media post referencing Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars slap against Chris Rock.
In a TikTok post, the professional dancer defended his wife, Jenna Johnson, after judge Carrie Ann Inaba harshly criticized her for including an elevator in her and actor Harry Shum Jr.’s samba on “Super Bowl Night.”
Chmerkovskiy responded on social media referencing the 2022 Oscars when Smith shouted, âKeep my wifeâs name out of your fucking mouth!â Âť after Rock made a simple joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith.
The âI Am Legendâ star, 58, then approached the âEverybody Hates Chrisâ co-creator, 61, and slapped him on stage.
Chmerkovskiy wrote, “You almost saw Fresh Prince walk into the ballroom last night,” before deleting the comment.
Inaba responded to the comments via her Instagram Stories, writing: “So this is what we do now?”
Chmerkovskiy was later suspended for his âinappropriateâ remark, a BBC Studios producer said in a statement.
He later admitted that he “made the wrong decision to reference the infamous Oscar moment.”
“Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle of my poor judgment, and I hate that she was,” he wrote, adding that “the last thing I want is to become a distraction from an important week or the incredible work of my dance partner Jenna Dewan.”
Bersten was named Dewan’s partner for the “Dedication Night” show.
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