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Val Chmerkovskiy appeared to be in a somber mood as he stepped out following his brief suspension from Dancing with the Stars.
His absence was noticed by fans but only subtly mentioned by the cast on Tuesday's Dedication Night episode, which saw his celebrity partner Jenna Dewan perform instead with Alan Bersten.
Dewan and Bersten earned a 37/40 while waltzing to Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers.
The controversy involving Chmerkovskiy was not mentioned, but cohost Alfonso Ribeiro did note at the top of the episode: 'Val is not with us this week.'
He was seen on a solo outing to run errands in Studio City the week after he was temporarily removed from the cast for alluding to Will Smith's infamous Oscars slap in a since-deleted social media post directed towards judge Carrie Ann Inaba while defending his wife.
On the same day, however, the professional dancer, 40, went to rehearsals and is set to return to the show next Tuesday after just a one-episode, weeklong suspension, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Val Chmerkovskiy appeared to be in a somber mood as he stepped out following his brief suspension from Dancing with the Stars
On Wednesday, he was seen walking through a parking lot, seemingly preoccupied while wearing wireless earphones and carrying his phone.
He wore a casual, low-key ensemble featuring a cream, long-sleeved top paired with camouflage shorts and running shoes.
He will continue to compete alongside Dewan for the remainder of the season and will be joining her for next week's Halloween-themed episode airing on Tuesday.
Last week, Chmerkovskiy garnered backlash for sharing a since-deleted social media post about Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
He was defending his wife, fellow pro Jenna Johnson, after Inaba criticized Johnson's routine with partner Harry Shum Jr.
In response to Inaba's comments, Chmerkovskiy wrote in a TikTok Story last Wednesday: 'You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.'
Johnson and her celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr had just performed a samba to Usher's hit song Yeah!
While getting judged and waiting for their score, Inaba advised Johnson: 'I think you need to put more content in your dances.
He was seen on a solo outing to run errands in Studio City the week after he was temporarily removed from the cast
He was suspended from this week's Dedication Night episode for alluding to Will Smith's infamous Oscars slap in a since-deleted social media post directed towards judge Carrie Ann Inaba
He was defending his wife, fellow pro Jenna Johnson, after Inaba criticized Johnson's routine with partner Harry Shum Jr
His absence was noticed by fans but only subtly mentioned by the cast on Tuesday's Dedication Night episode, which saw his celebrity partner Jenna Dewan perform without him
Johnson and her celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr had just performed a samba to Usher's hit song Yeah!
Last week, Chmerkovskiy garnered backlash for sharing a since-deleted social media post about Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars
Chmerkovskiy's Fresh Prince remarks made headlines, and Inaba called him out publicly on Thursday, writing on Instagram: 'So this is what we are doing now?'
He apologized to the longtime Dancing with the Stars judge via Instagram on the same day
On the same day as his outing, he reportedly went to rehearsals and is set to return to the show next Tuesday after just an one-episode, weeklong suspension
She added: 'Especially since [Harry's] so good, I want to see you challenge yourself a little bit more in the vein of what we're looking for. And there was a lift.'
Johnson then questioned Inaba in her response, asking: 'A lift?'
Chmerkovskiy's Fresh Prince remarks made headlines, and Inaba called him out publicly on Thursday, writing on Instagram: 'So this is what we are doing now?'
He apologized to the longtime Dancing with the Stars judge via Instagram on the same day.
'I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent post,' he wrote in his statement.
'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 continued.
'I should have never made the reference that I did and I deeply regret it.'
Chmerkovskiy also shared a statement addressing his absence from the Dedication Night episode.
'In a moment where my instinct was to defend my wife, I made a poor decision to reference a meme to "keep my wife's name" out of the conversation, without stopping to think through what else that reference could imply, which was genuinely never my intention,' he wrote.
'Carrie Ann certainly didn't deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was.'
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