When a Bad Joke Becomes the Story

Val Chmerkovskiy posted a since-deleted Instagram thought bubble that read: "You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night." The reference was unmistakable—the Will Smith slap at the 2022 Oscars. The target was equally clear: Carrie Ann Inaba, the Dancing with the Stars judge who had just given a harsh critique of Val's wife, professional dancer Jenna Johnson, after her performance with celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr.

Carrie Ann's offense, as the hosts explain, was reading the definition of a lift after Harry and Jenna's dance and pointing out that one had occurred. That was the extent of it. But Val's response—a joke about slapping a woman—landed with a thud. Carrie Ann reshared it on her Instagram story three times and once on her main feed, captioning it, "So this is what we're doing now?"

The Mechanics of a Misfire

The hosts walk through what happened with a mix of exasperation and reluctant understanding. Val's joke was clearly intended as a defense of his wife, but the execution was catastrophic. "By all means stand up for your wife, Val," one host says. "Joking about hitting, slapping a woman? Yeah."