Val Chmerkovskiy invokes Fresh Prince line in defence of Jenna Johnson after DWTS critique

Val Chmerkovskiy told Dancing With the Stars fans they almost saw "Fresh Prince enter the ballroom" after judge Carrie Ann Inaba criticised his wife Jenna Johnson on Tuesday's Super Bowl Night.

The line appeared in a TikTok Story posted on Wednesday, a day after Johnson's routine fuelled debate in the ballroom and online, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Johnson and her celebrity partner, Harry Shum Jr., had performed a samba to Usher's "Yeah!". The couple scored 33 out of 40, with eights from Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli and a nine from guest judge Joe Buck.

Inaba told Johnson to put more content in her dances. She also flagged a lift in the performance, which she defined on the live show as any movement where one dancer has both feet off the floor at the same time with the assistance or support of their partner.

Chmerkovskiy first weighed in on Tuesday under a viral TikTok video of the skybox reaction. "Puts some respect on her name. Shes trippin talking to her like that," he wrote.

He followed it with the Fresh Prince post on Wednesday. It had been live for six hours at the time of publication. Fans read it as a reference to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars after Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith starring in a G.I. Jane sequel.

For viewers following at home, the exchange turns a judges' note on choreography into a family defence playing out post by post.