Will Smith's famous Oscars slap enters ‘DWTS' drama

Val Chmerkovskiy has apologised to Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba after a joke about Will Smith’s famous Oscars slap caused trouble online.

The issue started after the October 13 episode of the show. Inaba gave feedback on a samba performed by Val’s wife, Jenna Johnson and her dance partner Harry Shum Jr.

Although she said she “loved every minute” of their dance, she felt the performance needed “more content.”

She also pointed out that the pair done a lift that was not allowed.

Jenna, however, questioned the judge’s comments and Val later shared a post on TikTok that caught people’s attention.

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He wrote, “You almost saw the Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.”

The comment referred to the moment Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Carrie Ann later shared Val’s post on Instagram. The dancer then decided to speak up and apologise for his words.

“I have reached out to Carrie Ann to apologize directly and personally, and I also want to apologize publicly as I understand my words affect so many outside of our internal DWTS family,” he wrote.

He added, “I am truly sorry to Carrie Ann, and everyone who I hurt with my careless post. I will do better moving forward.”

His post has led to mixed reactions, with some people defending him and others saying the joke went too far.