Dancing With the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy is in hot water.

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A 16-year-old girl and her mother are suing Chmerkovskiy for severe emotional stress and invasion of privacy, according to a new TMZ report. In January, Chmerkovskiy posted a meme on social media featuring the girl in question drinking a soda, with a caption that reads, "Letting your kid become obese should be considered child abuse."

But this girl has Down Syndrome, and the suit reportedly states that her weight issues are due to her condition. The mother and daughter apparently want $6 million from Chmerkovskiy, $600,000 from the photographer and an additional $6 million from CBS News, who also posted the photo.

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After posting the photo and getting major flak for it, the DWTS pro took it down, though it has been screen-capped. His caption read:

"I am truly sorry for the lack of sensitivity... but on some level I have to agree. Raising a child is the hardest thing in the world, I know, but being negligent when it comes to their nutrition is a crime. The lifelong obstacles and health issues you place on your child because of it can be devastating moving forward in their life. You're handicapping your kid, and they're defenseless, they don't know better, that's why you're there... anyway I'm just a childless preacher, but here's some food for thought. #nopunintended".

Chmerkovskiy's fellow pro Sharna Burgess took to Instagram recently to defend him.

Dancing With the Stars returns for a new season on Monday, March 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Tags
Dancing with the Stars, Reality TV, ABC