How DWTS’ Val Chmerkovskiy Feels About Being Replaced by Alan Bersten Amid Suspension
Jenna Dewan, Alan Bersten Share Rehearsal Update After Val Chmerkovskiy’s DWTS Suspension
Val Chmerkovskiy has no problem with Alan Bersten taking the lead amid his suspension from Dancing With the Stars.
Sources to the DWTS production told E! News that the 40-year-old “fully trusts Alan to manage this week and is grateful that he’s stepped in” to dance with celebrity partner Jenna Dewan after Chmerkovskiy was barred from participating in the upcoming Oct. 20 episode of the ABC series.
Chmerkovskiy is expected to be back in the ballroom for Oct. 27’s Horror Movie Night episode. Indeed, sources close to the dance pro told E! that “as per Val’s conversations with the network, he fully plans to return to the show next week with his wonderful dance partner Jenna Dewan.”
Chmerkovskiy is currently serving a one-week suspension from BBC Studios—the production company behind DWTS—over a recent social media comment he made toward judge Carrie Ann Inaba, who called out the dancer’s wife and fellow pro Jenna Johnson for what she considered was an illegal lift during a samba routine on the Oct. 13 episode.
Chmerkovskiy wrote on TikTok following Inaba’s critique that viewers “almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom,” leading many to believe he was referencing Will Smith‘s infamous Oscars 2022 slap.
