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After Dancing With the Stars professional Val Chmerkovskiy was suspended for a social media comment directed at judge Carrie Ann Inaba, the duo reunited on the ballroom floor.
By Olivia Evans Oct 28, 2026 1:05 PM | Updated 50 minutes ago
‘Dancing With the Stars' Pro Val Chmerkovskiy Apologizes to Partner Jenna Dewan on Show After Suspension
Carrie Ann Inaba and Val Chmerkovskiy are getting back on beat.
After the Dancing With the Stars professional was given a one-week suspension for a social media comment directed at the judge, the duo appeared to bury the beef in the ballroom.
Case in point: Chmerkovskiy headed over to the judges’ table after the Oct. 27 taping and embraced Inaba while the pair appeared to talk intently.
Chmerkovskiy completed his suspension during the Oct. 20 episode after posting a since-deleted comment on TikTok expressing frustration for Inaba’s critique of his wife Jenna Johnson during the previous episode.
Meanwhile, the 40-year-old also expressed an apology to his celebrity partner Jenna Dewan in rehearsal footage that was shared elsewhere during the latest DWTS episode.
“We are back together,” Chmerkovskiy told his partner. “I am so sorry for all the chaos. You did not sign up for that, and I feel awful.”
Dewan, for her part, wasted no time getting back in rhythm with Chmerkovskiy.
“I forgive you,” the Rookie star told him. “I missed you.”
Inaba also shared her perspective on the entire fallout, assuring there was no missteps between she and Johnson, despite her harsh criticism of Johnson including a life in her and celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr.’s Oct. 13 routine.
“I have not spoke about what happened because of professional courtesy for those who are still competing, and we actually have standards and practices that keep us separated,” Inaba wrote in an Instagram post Oct. 27. “But I think a part of this ‘headline’ has missed a few important parts of what happened.”
In fact, Inaba expressed that she did not realize her feedback had hurt Johnson at all.
Kirbie Johnson/Instagram
“I think it's important for everyone to know that Jenna and I hugged it out after the Super Bowl show,” she continued. “Jenna was an absolute professional about it, and two women worked through the moment. It came to my attention later that Jenna was deeply hurt."
Ultimately, Inaba was considering the entire ordeal as an opportunity for her to recalibrate her values as a judge.
“In the future if anything I say or do in my role as a judge to speak what I see and feel about your performance on this show hurts you in any way,” she added, “I am always open and available to listen, discuss and find a peaceful understanding.”
As she put it, “This has always been true…For me, it is my whole life's work.”
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"I have a vision board and I redo it every year," she told E! News in May. "This year is the first year that I stayed at home by myself on New Year's Eve. I did not go out at all. I made myself a bowl of pasta and a glass of red wine and I redid my vision board for the year. Dancing With the Stars was already on it from the year before. However, I added five more Dancing With the Stars on the board."
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