Alan Bersten has broken his silence on replacing Val Chmerkovskiy for Tuesday’s “Dancing With the Stars” episode.
Bersten, 32, took to Instagram on Tuesday to announce he would be stepping in to dance with Jenna Dewan, 45, for the show’s “Dedication Night” after Chmerkovskiy, 40, was suspended over the weekend. The pro dancer shared a photo of himself practicing a Viennese waltz with Dewan, who is honoring her mother, Nancy Bursch, during the special episode.
“I am so honored to be stepping in and dancing with @jennadewan,” Bersten wrote on Instagram. “You are such a light and it’s so beautiful to see you and your mom share the floor.”
Chmerkovskiy himself appeared in Bersten’s comments section to express gratitude and dispel rumors of bad blood between the two dancers. Speculation had swirled that Chmerkovskiy had unfollowed Bersten after the replacement was announced.
“Thank you for stepping in and doing such an amazing job,” Chmerkovskiy commented. “Jenna looks so good and most importantly happy.”
He continued with a playful jab at the unfollowing rumors: “You’re my new favorite follow,” adding a winky face emoji. The remark acknowledged that he had never actually followed Bersten on Instagram until recently.
Dewan also turned to social media on Tuesday to share her enthusiasm for the mother-daughter moment, posting similar rehearsal photos. “This is a truly timeless moment for my family 🤍,” the “Step Up” actress captioned her post. “So grateful I get to create this memory with my mom that we will share forever! And thank you also to Alan for stepping in and being amazing 🫶🏻.”
BBC Studios announced Saturday that Chmerkovskiy would sit out the forthcoming episode following a controversial TikTok post he made referencing Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars incident. The suspension came after Chmerkovskiy wrote that viewers “almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom” following judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s critique of his wife Jenna Johnson’s performance during “Super Bowl Night” on Oct. 13.
Inaba had harshly judged Johnson and her partner Harry Shum Jr. For including a lift in their samba, telling the “Glee” alum to “put more content in [his] dances.” Chmerkovskiy’s social media response drew immediate backlash and prompted the production company to act.
“The well-being of everyone who works on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is non-negotiable,” BBC Studios said in its statement. “Val’s social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show.”
Chmerkovskiy later addressed his absence directly, explaining that his “instinct” was to defend Johnson and he “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,” he wrote. “Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was.”
Chmerkovskiy and Johnson, who tied the knot in 2019, share a 3-year-old son, Rome Valentin. The couple has weathered public scrutiny before, but this marks the first time a social media post has resulted in a formal suspension from the competition series.
The “Dedication Night” episode featuring Bersten and Dewan’s Viennese waltz is scheduled to air Tuesday night on ABC.