Val Chmerkovskiy suspended from Dancing With the Stars

Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended from Dancing With the Stars for one week.

The decision comes following a controversial social media post Chmerkovskiy made that referenced Will Smith's infamous Oscars slap.

"You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night," he quipped in response to judge Carrie Ann Inaba criticising a lift in a samba routine performed by Chmerkovskiy's wife and fellow pro dancer, Jenna Johnson.

"The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable," read a statement from producer BBC Studios, Deadline reports.

"Val's social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show. As a result, he will not participate in next week's show."

Chmerkovskiy responded to the news with a statement on Instagram.

"As you may have seen in the news, I won't be in the ballroom this week," he wrote.

He explained that he had "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.

"Carrie Ann certainly didn't deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was," the dancer concluded.

"Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night. I'll be watching and cheering everyone on!"

Chmerkovskiy's dance partner, actor Jenna Dewan, will temporarily dance with pro Alan Bersten instead.