# Carrie Ann Inaba Speaks Out After Val Chmerkovskiy’s ‘DWTS’ Suspension, Requests Show to Add ‘New Lift Rule’ Next Season

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/carrie-ann-inaba-speaks-out-after-val-chmerkovskiys-dwts-suspension-requests-show-to-add-new-lift-rule-next-season/
- Published: 2026-10-27T17:43:42+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-27T18:39:06+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/carrie-ann-inaba-val-chmerkovskiy-dwts-suspension-new-lift-rule-1236916784/
- Topics: Americas, Celebrity, Entertainment, TV, World

## Key points

- Inaba says she and Johnson worked through their disagreement.
- She wants dancers and judges to create a new lift rule.
- Chmerkovskiy was suspended after an inappropriate social media post.

## Summary

Carrie Ann Inaba has addressed the dispute over her criticism of Jenna Johnson’s lifts on “Dancing With the Stars”, saying she and Johnson hugged after the episode and later offered to talk through the issue. Inaba also wants the show to develop a new lift rule for next season, arguing that dancers, judges and viewers would benefit from a shared understanding of how it is applied.

Inaba has traditionally deducted a point when dancers perform lifts, but has faced criticism that she enforces the rule inconsistently. The row escalated after Johnson’s husband, Val Chmerkovskiy, posted and then deleted a social media message that appeared to allude to Will Smith’s Oscars slap; BBC Studios called it inappropriate and suspended him from the following week’s show. Chmerkovskiy apologised to Inaba, saying he had acted while trying to defend his wife and had not considered what the reference could imply.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.