Maks Chmerkovskiy says he and his brother Val have spoken since Val’s 1-episode Dancing with the Stars suspension, and their differences haven’t changed his support for him.
“He’s going to handle it and he’s a big boy. He’s my brother no matter what,” Maks, 46, said. “We have difference of opinions and difference of actions but it’s not going to change the way I feel about him.”
Val, 40, was suspended for Dedication Night after responding to judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s critique of his wife, professional dancer Jenna Johnson, on the October 13 show. In a since-deleted post, he wrote: “You almost saw the Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.”
The reference invoked Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars slap of Chris Rock after Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. She has alopecia.
Val later apologized on Instagram, saying his instinct had been to defend his wife and that he hadn’t considered what else the reference could imply. “Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgement, and I hated that she was,” he wrote.
He also said he didn’t want to distract from his celebrity partner Jenna Dewan’s work or Dedication Night. Val returned to training with Dewan, 45, this week.
Maks, a former pro on the show, said he’s available to support his brother while leaving Val to address the situation himself. “He’s been on the other side of my antics, I guess, in the past, and we’re going to keep it moving.”