Val Thanks Alan Bersten After DWTS Suspension

Val Chmerkovskiy thanked Alan Bersten for replacing him on Dancing With the Stars during a one-week suspension, as Bersten partnered with Jenna Dewan for the show’s October 20 Dedication Night episode. Chmerkovskiy praised Bersten’s performance in a comment on Bersten’s Instagram post, which celebrated dancing with Dewan and sharing the stage with her mother, Nancy, during the episode. Chmerkovskiy also wrote that Dewan looked happy and jokingly called Bersten his “new favorite follow,” addressing online speculation that he had unfollowed his colleague. Bersten performed a Viennese waltz with Dewan, who dedicated the dance to her mother. The pair scored 37 out of 40, tying for second place on the leaderboard. Carrie Ann Inaba, the judge at the center of the controversy that preceded the suspension, gave Dewan her first 10 of the season. The suspension followed a social-media post by Chmerkovskiy after an October 13 episode. Inaba had criticized a lift in a performance by Chmerkovskiy’s wife, fellow professional dancer Jenna Johnson. Chmerkovskiy made a reference to the phrase “Fresh Prince,” invoking a meme associated with Will Smith’s confrontation with Chris Rock at the 2022...