'DWTS' pro Val Chmerkovskiy apologizes to Carrie Ann Inaba for 'carelessly' referring to Will Smith's Oscar slap: 'I'll do better.'

The dancer posted: "Last night you almost walked into the ballroom prince," prompting the judge to respond with a social post of her own: "So we're doing it now?"

In a since-deleted TikTok Story post, Dancing With the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy apologized to Carrie Ann Inaba for her "careless" reference to Will Smith's infamous Oscar slap.

"I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent post," the pro wrote on her Instagram story on Thursday. I reached out to Carrie Ann to apologize directly and personally, and I also want to apologize publicly because I know my words affect many people outside of our internal DWTS family. I should never have mentioned it and I deeply regret it. I know I'm in a fortunate position to have a platform and to be a role model for some, and I need to make sure I take care of that before I think about that post. Sharing is aligned with who I am and who I want to be for all of you.”

'DWTS': Val Chmerkovskiy references Will Smith's Oscar slap while defending wife Jenna Johnson amid criticism from Carrie Ann Inaba

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Chmerkovskiy concluded: "I am truly sorry for Carrie Ann and everyone I hurt with my careless post. I better move on."

The three-time DWTS winner defended his wife, fellow pro Jenna Johnson, online following the criticism the judge shared for her samba performance with Harry Shum Jr. on Super Bowl Night Tuesday. Chmerkovskiy faced particular backlash for a TikTok story posted on Wednesday that read, "Last night you almost saw the new prince in the ballroom," a comment many took to be a reference to Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.

Inaba responded to his comments on Instagram on Thursday, writing, "So we're doing it now?" While sharing a screenshot of a Page Six post with the dancer's "Fresh Prince" comment, alongside a split image of Smith and Chmerkovskiy.

After Johnson and his famous partner Harry Shum Jr. performed a samba to Usher's "Yeah!" performed, the judge told the mirrorball champion: "I think you should put more substance in your dances. "Especially because [Harry] is so good, I want to see you challenge yourself a bit more in the vein that we've been going for." “Elevator?” Johnson responded to Inaba's statement.

Inaba took out a piece of paper with the definition of a lift, which she read during the live episode: "A lift - I just have to say - is any movement in which one dancer, with the help or support of their partner, lifts both feet off the floor at the same time. Yes, lift."

Prince of Tik Tok Chmerkovskiy's new story was posted on Wednesday and was live for at least six hours. One Reddit thread was filled with theories that Chmerkovskiy's post was "probably a reference to when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock for making a comment about his wife," adding that they took his comment because he apparently "wanted to slap Carrie Ann for telling Jenna to get it up." The story was later deleted.

While hosting The Rock in 2022, Smith took to the Oscars stage after joking about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who starred in G.I. Jane's trail. "Keep my wife's name out of your damn mouth!" Smith infamously yelled from the crowd after returning to his seat after being slapped.