Val Chmerkovskiy Is Back on Dancing With the Stars After One-Week Suspension

Val Chmerkovskiy is back on Dancing With the Stars. He returned on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, for the show's Horror Movie Night episode, after sitting out one week.

The suspension came after a row over the judging. The trouble started after the Super Bowl Night episode on Oct. 14, when judge Carrie Ann Inaba criticised a lift in Jenna Johnson and Harry Shum Jr.'s samba. A lift is a move where one dancer raises or carries the other. Chmerkovskiy responded online the next day. In a TikTok Story, he wrote, "You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night." The reference to Will Smith's slap at the Oscars was seen by many as a jab at Inaba, and the show later suspended him.

His comeback began on screen. Before his routine, the show's pretaped video package acknowledged his return. In it, Chmerkovskiy apologised for the chaos, and his partner Jenna Dewan said "I forgive you." The two hugged. They then danced an Argentine tango, a partner dance from Argentina, with a zombie-film theme.

The judges responded warmly. Inaba said, "Incredible choreography, Val." Derek Hough also praised the routine. Chmerkovskiy and Dewan survived a double elimination that night, which meant two couples were sent home. They move on to the Disney-themed episode next week.

Chmerkovskiy's absence the week before got little on-air explanation. On the Dedication Night episode on Oct. 21, co-host Alfonso Ribeiro said only, "Val is not with us this week." Alan Bersten stepped in to dance with Dewan that night.

Inaba has also spoken publicly since the suspension. Deadline and Variety both reported that she called for a new rule on lifts.

The show airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern and 7 p.m. Central on ABC. Hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough present it. Dewan and Shum Jr. are among the Season 35 cast.

For viewers, the return closes a week that started with a public argument and ended on the dance floor. The show now heads into its Disney week with the same couple still in the competition.