Val Chmerkovskiy Sued for $6M After Posting Meme of Down Syndrome Girl
Celebrity

The 'Dancing with the Stars' pro dancer is slapped with a lawsuit after he shared an internet meme of a heavyset young girl drinking soda.

AceShowbiz - Valentin Chmerkovskiy is facing a lawsuit. The "Dancing with the Stars" pro dancer is sued for $6 million by a Tennessee family after the star posted on his social media a meme featuring a heavyset child drinking soda. "Letting your child become obese should be considered child abuse," the text read.

"I am truly sorry for the lack of sensitivity," Val wrote in a caption, "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."

Now the girl's family takes a legal action against Val, saying they suffered emotional distress after the "DWTS" star exposed her to hundreds of his fans online. According to the family, the 16-year-old girl named Skylar Eden suffers weight issues due to her Down Syndrome. Someone took the original picture at a baseball game in 2008 and shared it online with the caption, "Everything that's wrong with America."

In addition to naming the pro dancer as a defendant, the family is seeking $6 million from CBS News for re-posting the meme and $600,000 from the guy who originally took and uploaded the girl's picture. The family cites invasion of privacy and defamation.

Val has since removed the meme. In response to the lawsuit, he then tweeted, "Just scroll beyond the 'juicy story' and you'll see exactly the type of person I am. And how absurd this story is. At this point I'm startin to think it isn't about her at all. And that's unfortunate. That's the real problem here."

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