Dancing With the Stars Sets Double Elimination After Jenna Dewan Dances Through Val Chmerkovskiy’s Suspension
Dancing With the Stars kept all 10 couples in the competition on Tuesday, October 20, setting up a double elimination next week. The decision came on the night Jenna Dewan danced with Alan Bersten instead of her regular partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, who was serving a one-show suspension.
Dewan and Bersten earned 37 out of 40 for a Viennese waltz dedicated to Dewan’s mother. Their score will carry into the October 27 results, when two couples are due to leave the show.
Dewan scores her first 10 with a substitute partner
Bersten stepped in for Chmerkovskiy for the October 20 Dedication Night episode. He had competed earlier this season with chef Giada De Laurentiis before their elimination.
Dewan and Bersten danced to the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody.” Dewan’s mother joined them on the ballroom floor, bringing the tribute into the performance. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba awarded Dewan her first 10 of the season, helping the pair finish just one point below the night’s top score.
At the start of the broadcast, co-host Alfonso Ribeiro briefly told viewers that Chmerkovskiy was not with the show that week. The episode did not go into the dispute behind his absence.
Afterward, Chmerkovskiy praised Dewan and thanked Bersten on social media for stepping in. Chmerkovskiy has also returned to rehearsals with Dewan following his one-show suspension.
How the DWTS controversy began
The suspension followed an October 13 judging exchange involving Inaba and Chmerkovskiy’s wife, professional dancer Jenna Johnson. Inaba criticized a lift in a samba performed by Johnson and her celebrity partner, Harry Shum Jr.
Chmerkovskiy responded with a social media post invoking the “Fresh Prince.” The reference was widely understood as an allusion to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. Chmerkovskiy later said he had meant to refer to Smith’s words about his wife, not the slap, and apologized for the post.
BBC Studios, which produces Dancing With the Stars, called the post inappropriate and removed Chmerkovskiy from the October 20 episode. His suspension applied to that show, not to Dewan’s place in the competition.
Johnson and Shum also performed on Dedication Night. A behind-the-scenes video showed Johnson and Inaba embracing at the judges’ table, a moment that followed days of attention on their earlier exchange.
Two couples will leave on October 27
Although viewers voted during Dedication Night, nobody was sent home. The show said the scores would carry over, and co-host Julianne Hough announced a double elimination for the next episode, Horror Movie Night, on Tuesday, October 27.
Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov led the October 20 judges’ leaderboard with 38 out of 40. Dewan and Bersten tied Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach on 37. Those results give the couples a starting point for next week, but they do not settle who will be eliminated: viewer votes also count.
Shirley Ballas will join the judging panel as a guest for Horror Movie Night. Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC and Disney+, with episodes available the following day on Hulu.
