Val Chmerkovskiy comes face-to-face with Carrie Ann Inaba as he returns to DWTS after one-week suspension over controversial joke

Val Chmerkovskiy returned to Dancing With The Stars on Tuesday following his one-week suspension from the show over a controversial social media comment.

Chmerkovskiy, 40, danced an Argentine tango with partner Jenna Dewan, 45, for the show's Horror Movie Night episode. 

The professional dancer also came face-to-face with judge Carrie Ann Inaba after making a social media post referencing Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap in response to his wife Jenna Johnson receiving a score of eight from Inaba on the October 13 episode, which later got him suspended. 

Chmerkovskiy and Dewan danced to the song Uninvited, inspired by the 2007 horror movie 28 Weeks Later. 

The judges, including Inaba, were thrilled by the performance, with the pair scoring a 37 out of 40. 'Incredible choreography, Val,' Inaba told him after the performance, as he thanked her.

Meanwhile, his wife and her partner Harry Shum Jr got a perfect score of 40 for the night, with Inaba sharing that she teared up during the dance. 

Last week Dewan joined forces with DWTS pro Alan Bersten, who replaced Chmerkovskiy amid his suspension.

Earlier in rehearsals, Chmerkovskiy apologized to Dewan for the drama.

'I am so sorry for all the chaos, you did not sign up for that and I feel awful,' he told her.

'I forgive you,' she replied.

After the October 13 episode, Chmerkovskiy shared a now-deleted post to his TikTok Story, joking: 'You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night', after Inaba called out Johnson for a lift, which ballroom-dancing competitions frown upon.

Many fans thought Chmerkovskiy was referencing the infamous moment when Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. When Smith slapped Rock, he screamed at the host: 'Keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth!'

Chmerkovskiy later clarified that he was referring to the 'keep my wife's name' portion of the incident.

Chmerkovskiy faced a furious backlash for the post and publicly apologized, but BBC Studios confirmed that he would be off the series for one week, marking the first time in the history of the show that a pro has been suspended.

Inaba broke her silence on the incident in a recent Instagram post, as she called for a 'new lift rule.'

'I have not spoken about what happened because of professional courtesy for those who are still competing, and we actually have standards and practices that keep us separated,' she said.

'But I think a part of this 'headline' has missed a few important parts of what happened. I think it's important for everyone to know that Jenna and I hugged it out after the Super Bowl show. 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. So I also offered to speak with her at anytime. I have also offered to discuss the lift rule and how I enforce it. @sharnaburgess made a great video explaining lifts, assists and which dances allow and don’t allow them.'

She continued, 'I think in the future, a new lift rule should be created for next season. I think a session of with all the dancers and the judges in a room together to discuss the history of how and why Len Goodman, our original producers and I defined the lift rule and the what the purpose is which is safety and fairness.'

'The show has evolved tremendously, the way the show is cast has also changed, and so has our audience and the way they consume the show. So, working together to create a better understanding between the dancers and the judges and our audience is important to me, as we move forward and is something I have asked for.'

In reaction to the news of his suspension, Chmerkovskiy provided a statement to The Daily Mail through his representative, insisting his 'instinct was to defend my wife' but confessing he 'made a poor decision' out of 'bad judgment.'

'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,' Chmerkovskiy insisted.

Chmerkovskiy said in his new statement: 'Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was. The last thing I want is to become a distraction from an important week or from the incredible work my dance partner Jenna Dewan is putting in.'

Though Chmerkovskiy quickly took down the story, his comments had already started circulating and caught Inaba’s attention, sources said.

An insider told the Daily Mail: 'She was not going to let that s*** go. She was furious. Livid. She said it was a threat and that something needed to be done. She wanted an apology but also wanted consequences.'

Insiders told the Daily Mail that Chmerkovskiy apologized to Inaba but that it was not enough for the judge.

‘So the producers knew that they had to meet in the middle and punish [Val],’ an insider at Dancing With the Stars told the Daily Mail. ‘She wanted more, but that's what they ended up doing.’

Inaba responded by posting a screenshot of an article covering Chmerkovskiy's comment to Instagram and writing: 'So this is what we are doing now?'

Afterwards, Chmerkovskiy shared a message to Inaba in a TikTok comment posted under a video of her interaction with Johnson.

'Put some respect on [my wife's] name,' he wrote, adding: 'She's trippin' talking to her like that.'

Elsewhere on Tuesday's episode actress Julia Stiles and partner Ezra Sosa danced an Argentine tango to the song The Dogs Attack by Jerry Goldsmith, inspired by the movie The Omen.

However, the judges had some complaints, with Inaba pointing out that Stiles appeared 'more tense' during the dance.

She ultimately earned a 26 out of 40.

Actress Tatyana Ali and partner Jan Ravnik danced a Paso doble inspired by the movie Sinners. It earned them a 28 out of 40. 

Connor Wood and partner Rylee Arnold performed a contemporary routine inspired by the horror film Annabelle: Creation to the song You Are My Sunshine by Charles McDonald. He received a score of 37 out of 40. 

Athlete Ezra Frech and partner Daniella Karagach were inspired by the movie The Invisible Man as they danced a Jazz routine to Madness by Ruelle. The dance earned them a score of 35.

Baseball player Jackson Olson and partner Emma Slater danced a contemporary routine to That's Life by Frank Sinatra, inspired by the movie Joker, which helped them score a 35. 

Dancing with the Stars airs live on ABC and Disney+ on Tuesdays and streams the next day on Hulu.