Jenna Dewan’s new ‘Dancing With the Stars’ partner revealed in wake of Val Chmerkovskiy suspension

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

Rock, A. (2026, October 18). Jenna Dewan’s new ‘Dancing With the Stars’ partner revealed in wake of Val Chmerkovskiy suspension. New York Post. https://pagesix.com/2026/10/17/entertainment/jenna-dewans-new-dancing-with-the-stars-partner-revealed/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-18 · by Audrey Rock

Quick Summary

Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended from "Dancing With the Stars" for one week following a controversial social media post referencing Will Smith's Oscars incident and aimed at judge Carrie Ann Inaba. As a result, Jenna Dewan will dance with Alan Bersten instead during next week’s “Dedication Night” episode on October 20. Chmerkovskiy maintains his post was meant to defend his wife, fellow dancer Jenna Johnson, who faced criticism from Inaba for a lift in her samba performance last week. The article highlights the tension between dancers and judges while detailing the suspension and its impact on upcoming shows.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-18, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Val Chmerkovskiy was suspended from Dancing With the Stars for one week following a controversial social media post, which he claims was meant to defend his wife, fellow dancer Jenna Johnson. The suspension came just hours before it was announced that Jenna Dewan’s new partner for the upcoming "Dedication Night" episode on October 20 would be Alan Bersten, who had previously been eliminated from the competition along with Giada de Laurentiis. Chmerkovskiy's post, which referenced Will Smith’s Oscars incident and seemed aimed at judge Carrie Ann Inaba, was deemed inappropriate by show producers. BBC Studios, the producer of the show, stated that Val’s actions did not align with the values expected of anyone associated with Dancing With the Stars, leading to his suspension for next week's episode.

Written for “Jenna Dewan's Dancing Partner Revealed” on 2026-10-18, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Jenna Dewan's Dancing Partner Revealed
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 15% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 22% hedged 2 of 9 📰 publisher trust 67
“While both articles refer to Val Chmerkovskiy's suspension from 'Dancing With the Stars', Article A focuses on announcing the suspension, whereas Article B discusses Jenna Dewan's new partner as a result of the suspension.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
26
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
15%
4 of 26 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 11329 article(s) · 32 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 32 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Audrey Rock
73 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Jenna Dewan will reportedly perform on Oct. 20 with “Dancing With the Stars” pro Alan Bersten after her regular partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, was suspended for next week’s “Dedication Night” show.
🔮 Though it’s unclear how Bündchen may have sustained her apparent injury, she’s open about the consistent — and mindful — workout routines that keep her in top shape.
🔮 Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended from “Dancing With the Stars” for one week following a controversial social media post referencing Will Smith’s infamous Oscars incident.
🔮 “If I had known anything and could have done anything different, I truly would have,” she told the outlet.
🔮 Her massive sapphire ring from Prince William — which previously belonged to the late Princess Diana — was visible in the portrait.
🔮 “There’s a lot of backlash women get for having children older but not men, which is interesting,” she told Drew Barrymore in a clip from an upcoming interview, set to air Oct. 20.
🔮 Various crew members could be seen surrounding the pair as they worked on the highly anticipated sequel.
🔮 Yet another posited that the apparent status meant “basically that he would hit [Inaba].”
🔮 I would love to have another baby if only I had the stamina!!!!
🔮 Swift recalled that she “would always hear someone cheering from across the studio where we were shooting it” after finishing a take and saying “Cut.”
Also by Audrey Rock
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 73 articles by Audrey Rock →

Topics

BBC Studios Oscars TikTok Us Weekly Viennese

Subjects

Chmerkovskiy PERSON · 8× Carrie Ann PERSON · 4× Inaba PERSON · 3× Johnson PERSON · 3× DWTS ORG · 2× Jenna Dewan PERSON · 2× Page Six ORG · 2× TikTok ORG · 2× Will Smith’s PERSON · 2× Alan Bersten PERSON · 1×

Narrative

The news comes just hours after Chmerkovskiy was suspended from the show for one week following a controversial social media post — referencing Will Smith’s Oscars incident and seemingly aimed at judge Carrie Ann Inaba — that he insists was in defense of his wife, fellow “DWTS” pro Jenna Johnson.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 Jenna Dewan will reportedly perform on Oct. 20 with “Dancing With the Stars” pro Alan Bersten after her regular partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, was suspended for next week’s “Dedication Night” show.

Claims (26 extracted, 4 hedged)

Jenna Dewan will reportedly perform on Oct. 20 with “Dancing With the Stars” pro Alan Bersten after her regular partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, was suspended for next week’s “Dedication Night” show. uncertain
partner → perform → show
According to Us Weekly, she’ll be performing a Viennese waltz set to “Unchained Melody,” dedicated to her mother, Nancy. uncertain
she → accord → mother
Bernsten was eliminated from the competition earlier in the season, along with partner Giada de Laurentiis. asserted
Bernsten → eliminate → Laurentiis
The news comes just hours after Chmerkovskiy was suspended from the show for one week following a controversial social media post — referencing Will Smith’s Oscars incident and seemingly aimed at judge Carrie Ann Inaba — that he insists was in defense of his wife, fellow “DWTS” pro Jenna Johnson. asserted
he → come → wife
“The well-being of everyone who works on ‘Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable,’” read a statement from producer BBC Studios, according to Deadline. uncertain
statement → work → Deadline
“Val’s social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show. asserted
post → reflect → show
As a result, he will not participate in next week’s show.” asserted
he → participate → show
Chmerkovskiy himself responded in a statement to Page Six acknowledging the suspension. asserted
Chmerkovskiy → respond → suspension
Chmerkovskiy wrote that 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.” uncertain
which → write → what
“Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was,” he continued. asserted
he → deserve → judgment
“The last thing I want is to become a distraction from an important week or from the incredible work my dance partner Jenna Dewan is putting in.” asserted
partner → want → work
He concluded, “Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night. asserted
He → conclude → Night
I’ll be watching and cheering everyone on!!” asserted
I → watch → everyone
Inaba criticized Johnson for including a lift in her samba with Harry Shum Jr. during last week’s show, which Johnson appeared stunned by. asserted
Johnson → criticize → show
The audience fell quiet after Inaba read from a sheet of paper that “a lift is any movement during which one of the dancers has both feet off the floor at the same time with the assistance or support of their partner.” asserted
one → fall → partner
While a source claimed Johnson cried backstage over the tense on-camera encounter, the dance pro told Julianne Hough that she “totally hear[d] Carrie Ann,” adding, “I will take it. asserted
I → claim → it
But it was Chmerkovskiy’s social media reaction that caused controversy, with the dancer taking to TikTok to share the cryptic status, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night” — seemingly referencing Will Smith’s infamous 2022 Oscars encounter with Chris Rock. asserted
Prince → cause → Rock
Chmerkovskiy took to another TikTok upload thead to write, “Puts some respect on her name. asserted
Chmerkovskiy → take → name
Shes trippin talking to her like that.” asserted
She → talk → that
In a post that’s seemingly since been deleted, Inaba thanked Page Six on Instagram for letting her know about Chmerkovskiy’s social media message, writing atop a photo of the coverage, “So this is what we are doing now?” asserted
we → delete → what
Chmerkovskiy took to Instagram Stories earlier this week to share that he’d personally reached out to the competition judge to “apologize directly and personally.” asserted
he → take → judge
The dancer wrote that he also wanted “to apologize publicly as I understand my words affect so many outside of our internal DWTS family.” asserted
words → write → family
Chmerkovskiy stated that he acknowledged the need to “actively” pause “to think before I post to ensure what I am sharing aligns with who l am, and who I want to be for you all.” asserted
I → state → you
Calling his since-deleted post “careless,” he said he was “truly sorry to Carrie Ann” and promised to “do better” in the future. asserted
he → call → future
Conversation Your voice matters. asserted
voice → matter → ?
Discussions are moderated for civility. asserted
Discussions → moderate → civility
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