Dancing with the Stars has suspended pro Val Chmerkovskiy for a week over a deleted Will Smith slap joke aimed at a judge, even after he apologised. Fair, or too far?

What happened

On a Tuesday episode of Dancing with the Stars, judge Carrie Ann Inaba criticised pro Jenna Johnson for putting a lift into her samba with Harry Shum Jr. Johnson's husband, fellow pro Val Chmerkovskiy, then posted on TikTok: "You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night", an apparent reference to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. He deleted it and said he had apologised to Inaba directly. On 17 October producer BBC Studios called the post inappropriate and suspended him for one week. His partner, Jenna Dewan, will dance with Alan Bersten on 20 October.

Why people disagree

Supporters say a joke about nearly slapping someone, aimed at a colleague, is not harmless, that BBC Studios was right to call staff well-being "non-negotiable", and that an apology alone costs nothing. Critics say he was quoting a well-known meme to defend his wife, it was plainly not a real threat, and he deleted it and apologised before any penalty, so punishing him anyway suggests apologising earns nothing. His partner also loses her pro for a week.

What's still unclear

Inaba hasn't responded publicly to the apology or the suspension. It isn't clear whether the show will now police what its stars post on personal accounts, or how viewers will react when Chmerkovskiy returns.