DWTS' Carrie Ann Inaba Breaks Silence on Val Chmerkovskiy’s Suspension

Did DWTS’ Carrie Ann Inaba File Complaint About Val Chmerkovskiy? The Truth About His SuspensionCarrie Ann Inaba is taking the floor. The Dancing With the Stars judge spoke out for the first time after pro Val Chmerkovskiy was handed a one-week suspension for eyebrow-raising comments he made about feedback Inaba had given his wife Jenna Johnson, making it clear she wants to move on from the drama and focus on the show. “I have not spoke about what happened because of professional courtesy for those who are still competing,” she wrote in her comments section of a recent Instagram post while replying to Johnson, “and we actually have standards and practices that keep us separated. But I think a part of this ‘headline’ has missed a few important parts of what happened.” Inaba went on to share that after the tense back and forth during the show, she and Johnson made up privately. “I think it's important for everyone to know that Jenna and I hugged it out after the Super Bowl show,” she continued. “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."She continued, "So I also offered to speak with her at anytime. I have also offered to discuss the lift rule and how I enforce it." The DWTS judge also assured fans that she and Johnson will always put their best foot forward. “We were always okay,” she added. “I love and respect you while I have to do my job. And think you are doing great with Harry [Shum Jr.]! That dedication night dance was profoundly important to Asian Americans in our audience.” Noting that she and Johnson are “two powerful women who are professional and also emotional,” Inaba is waltzing past the criticism. “In the future if anything I say or do in my role as a judge to speak what I see and feel about your performance on this show hurts you in any way,” she added, “I am always open and available to listen, discuss and find a peaceful understanding. And this has always been true…For me, it is my whole life's work.”Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images; Leon Bennett/Getty Images for 20th Century StudiosDuring the Oct. 13 episode of Dancing With the Stars, Inaba criticized Johnson for including a lift in her samba routine, prompting her husband Chmerkovskiy to write on TikTok in a since-deleted post that fans “almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom.” As fans began interpreting the comment as a reference to Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap in 2022, Inaba reacted, too, writing on her Instagram Stories Oct. 15, “So this is what we are doing now?” Since then, Chmerkovskiy had issued multiple public apologies. "I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent post," he wrote on Instagram Oct. 15. "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." Two days later, Chmerkovskiy received a one-week suspension from the competition, barring him from dancing with partner Jenna Dewan on Dedication Night. Shortly after his suspension was issued, he reinforced his regrets to Inaba. “In a moment where my instinct was to defend my wife,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories Oct. 17, “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.” The 40-year-old added, “Carrie Ann certainly didn't deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was.” Chmerkovskiy is expected to return to the ballroom with Dewan for the Oct. 27 episode. To learn more about how Dancing With the Stars works behind the scenes, keep reading… ABC/Paula LoboHow Much Do the Celebrities Get Paid to Be on Dancing With the Stars?Citing multiple sources, Variety reported in 2019 that Dancing With the Stars contestants make $125,000 for the rehearsal period and first two weeks of the show. If they progress beyond that point, the outlet continued, they earn more money each week. At the time, sources told the publication stars could earn a maximum of $295,000. However, Bobby Bones said he made more than this when he won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018. "That show pays OK," the radio personality said on a Sept. 2025 episode of Jason Tartick's podcast Trading Secrets. "Like, first episode, no money. Second episode, $10,000. I think it's like, $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000. It ends up being $50,000 an episode if you last." Also receiving a base salary of around $110,000, Bones continued, "I ended up making close to $400,000 from that show." ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty ImagesWhat Do the Pros Get Paid on Dancing With the Stars?Similarly, little has been shared publicly about how much the pros get paid. But as with the contestants, it seems like the longer they're on the show, the more money they can make. But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they're not leaving the ballroom empty-handed. "You're guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks," Jenna Johnson said on a June 2025 episode of Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester's podcast The Morning After. "I think there's different contracts though. I can't speak for everybody."Disney/Eric McCandlessDo Pros Get Paid More If They Win Dancing With the Stars?Apparently not. While Johnson—who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, as well as season 33 with The Bachelor's Joey Graziadei—says the pros don't get a larger paycheck if they take home what is now called the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, she noted there's still an incentive to make it to the finale (besides bragging rights, of course). "If you make it all the way to the end, you're getting paid the whole season, which is amazing, and you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale," she explained on The Morning After. "If you win, it's not like you win a $1 million and split it with your partner. You're just getting a cute trophy together."Instagram / Dancing With the StarsDo the Troupe Members Get Paid as Much as the Pros on Dancing With the Stars?That doesn't appear to be the case. On a 2022 episode of Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold recalled how her salary was cut "more than in half" when she was demoted from pro to troupe member.Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty ImagesHow Are Pros and Celebrities Paired Together on Dancing With the Stars?The pros get little input when it comes to being matched with a celebrity. "You get no say," Lindsay said on a May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers' Hot Smart Rich podcast. "It's very much just, 'Here's your partner. Make it work.'" In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute. "They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live," Jenna said on The Morning After. "They want that genuine reaction. So I think people always think we know who we have and we're keeping it a secret. Absolutely not. They do not tell us. They really don't even want us to know the cast. It gets leaked a lot, but they want it very hush-hush until you walk in and meet your partner." As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches? "It's based on height, build and personality and compatibility," former showrunner Rob Wade told E! News in 2015. "We don't pair people who aren't going to get on. It's too intense. It's not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn't do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don't want to see two people who don't like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn't get on so well."Disney/Eric McCandlessHow Often Do the Pros and Celebrities Practice on Dancing With the Stars?Put simply, a lot."Every day we have four-hour rehearsals," Rylee Arnold, who was partnered with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik on season 33, shared on a September 2024 episode of the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis. "It’s either 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m."But the work doesn't stop once the rehearsal wraps. Rylee noted she might then meet with producers or the creative team, work on choreography or study dance videos."Literally my whole life is devoted to it," she continued, "but it's my passion and it's what I love. So, it makes me so happy."Indeed, it's a no-days-off kind of gig."We have our show day on Tuesday and then it's Wednesday to Sunday, straight rehearsals," Rylee added. "And then Monday we have camera blocking and then Tuesday's show day again."Instagram / Emma SlaterDo the Pros Get to Pick the Songs Each Week for Their Dance With Their Celebrity Partner?"Mostly yes," Emma Slater and Britt Stewart revealed in a September 2025 Instagram video, "though it's a collaboration with producers."Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty ImagesWhat's the Process Like for Making the Costumes for Dancing With the Stars?If you thought the quickstep was fast, just wait until you hear about the pace of the costume department."We meet with the set and lighting designers, dancers and talent and create a story [for each pair]," costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner told TV Insider back in 2017. "Then we sketch out ideas. We have five days, max, to make all the outfits. That’s half a day per costume, not including all the rhinestones. The fitting and trimming we do later. We have about 20 people in our department and then we have a separate tailor shop. It’s a big enterprise."In fact, costume designer Steven Norman Lee said pairs usually try on their costumes for the first time just hours before showtime. And while the department "might use a pair of pants again for the boys," he continued, everything is generally made custom each week.As Gschwendtner added, "We do reuse things for group numbers or promo shoots, but not for the competition. We don’t reuse things unless there’s a specific reason to do so. We try to keep everybody fresh and new in something different every week, so it stays interesting."For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App