Dancing With the Stars’ Emma Slater clapped back at a fan who questioned why her boyfriend, Alan Bersten, is stepping in for Val Chmerkovskiy amid his one-week benching.
“Alan is going to dance for Val? Alan? Alan was eliminated,” the fan said in a Saturday, October 17, TikTok clip, to which Slater, 37, responded, “Yeah that’s what happens, we all step in for each other.”
Slater’s public interaction comes after Us confirmed on Saturday that Bersten, 32, will dance a Viennese waltz with Jenna Dewan during the Monday, October 20, episode of the reality TV dancing series after the actress’ pro partner, Chmerkovskiy, 40, was benched for making controversial social media comments about judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
Bersten, who went public with his romance with Slater in April 2025, and partner Giada De Laurentiis faced off against Chmerkovskiy and Dewan, 45, during season 35 of DWTS, however Bersten and De Laurentiis, 56, were eliminated during week 2. (Slater remains in the current competition with her own celebrity partner, Jackson Olson.)
Slater’s comment on the TikTok post was one of a string of social media viewpoints that defended Bersten’s momentary return to season 35. “Who did you think was gona step in? Channing Tatum?” wrote one fan, referring to Dewan’s ex-husband, 46, and Step Up film costar, while another wrote, “Well obviously an eliminated pro would step in … there’s nobody else to do it.”
Not everybody is thrilled with Bersten’s return, however, with former DTWS pro Gleb Savchenko shading the decision during a recent TikTok livestream. “Alan, I think he’s Alan. I mean, he’s just not up to the level of dancing, like, period,” Savchenko, 43, told fans. “[The] quality, the technique. He’s a good dancer, I guess, for TV but if we talk about art? Like creating art? He’s like, eh.”
He added, “I don’t have anything against the guy, just, why Alan? Who else is there?”
A spokesperson for BBC Studios shared a statement regarding Chmerkovskiy’s suspension with Us on Saturday. “The well-being of everyone who works on Dancing With the Stars is non-negotiable,” the statement read. “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’s post in question was sparked as a form of defense over his wife and fellow DWTS pro, Jenna Johnson, following criticism she received from Inaba, 58, over her lift with partner Harry Shum Jr. Johnson during Super Bowl Night earlier this month.
“She’s trippin talking to her like that,” Chmerkovskiy wrote in the comments section of a TikTok video about the routine before a separate now-deleted social media comment from him read, “You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night.”
The comment was in reference to the moment Will Smith slapped host Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, notoriously shouting, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth.”
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