Dancing with the Stars fans were left surprised after Val Chmerkovskiy appeared to make a friendly gesture toward Tatyana Ali during Monday night’s live show.
The longtime DWTS pro returned to the ballroom last week after serving a one-week suspension over a since-deleted social media post defending his wife, Jenna Johnson, following criticism from judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
Val later apologized to Carrie Ann and Jenna. However, his controversial post also caused tension with Tatyana because he referenced her Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star Will Smith’s infamous 2022 Oscars slap while defending Jenna.
That made a brief moment during Monday’s show stand out to viewers.
During the opening introductions, host Alfonso Ribeiro announced Val and his partner, Jenna Dewan. As the camera showed the pair, Jenna smiled and waved while Val appeared to interlock fingers with Tatyana, who was standing nearby with her partner, Jan Ravnik.
Val then kissed Tatyana’s hand before turning back toward the camera and smiling beside Jenna.
The moment happened so quickly that many viewers initially thought Val was holding Jenna’s hand instead. Tatyana’s face and reaction were not clearly shown.
Still, fans were quick to react after noticing what happened.
“Val kissed Tatyana’s hand last night, and that gave me the ick. He is so weird. Idk why he was holding her hand to begin with,” one viewer wrote.
“I just assumed it was Jenna’s (wife) hand!! I hate that; I bet he wanted that on camera,” another said.
“Stop omg I paid no mind and thought it was his wife’s,” a third viewer added.
“I thought this was so weird!!! lol,” another person commented.
“He gives me the ick so badly,” one viewer wrote.
“Now why in the f**k did he do that?” another asked.
Tatyana Admitted She Avoided Val And Jenna
The reaction came shortly after Tatyana appeared to confirm that she intentionally avoided working with Val and Jenna Johnson during this week’s team dances.
Tatyana served as captain of Team Slaytopia, led by her former Fresh Prince co-star and DWTS co-host Alfonso Ribeiro. As captain, she had the chance to choose which contestants would join her team.
Her team ultimately lost to Team Wildcats, who earned a perfect score for their routine. The result led fans to question why Tatyana did not choose some of the highest-scoring stars, including Val and Jenna Dewan and Jenna Johnson and Harry Shum Jr.
When one fan suggested that Tatyana purposely avoided working with Val and Jenna Johnson because of their recent drama, she appeared to confirm it.
“Very much so,” Tatyana replied.
That response added another layer to the brief moment between Tatyana and Val during Monday night’s live show, especially as fans continue to watch how the cast members interact following Val’s suspension.
