After 15 years on Dancing With The Stars, world-renowned host Tom Bergeron suddenly departed from the hit competition show, leaving fans of the franchise with soooo many questions.
In June of 2005, after hosting America’s Funniest Home Videos on ABC for a few years, Bergeron began hosting Dancing with the Stars on ABC as well. Serving as an exceptional member of the cast, the 68-year-old received nine Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program, winning the award in 2012 — how impressive!
While things seemed to be smooth sailing for Bergeron, in July of 2020, he announced via Twitter that he had been let go from Dancing With The Stars ahead of its 29th season, leaving fans with one major question: Why?
Keep scrolling to find out why Tom Bergeron was let go from Dancing With The Stars…
Why did Tom Bergeron leave Dancing With the Stars?
On October 16 and October 23, Bergeron served as a special guest on former Dancing With The Stars pro Cheryl Burke‘s podcast, Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans, spilling all of the tea about the beloved competition series in a two-part episode.
Within the podcast, he revealed why he was removed from the franchise as well, with the controversial casting choice of Sean Spicer leading to his demise.
Going into the 2020 election year, Bergeron was determined to keep Dancing With The Stars out of politics in order to preserve the escapist nature of the show. When the producers were set on casting the former White House Press Secretary for season 28, the Massachusetts native had some not-so nice things to say.
“I said, ‘Guys, this is exactly what we said we wouldn’t do. Don’t go there. This is, you know, not the right time, play to our strengths, be the show that gives people a break from all this b******t'” Bergeron prefaced, before explaining how the producers were going to cast Spicer anyways and advised him to simply “take the season off” — yikes!
Naturally, Bergeron was furious with the Dancing With The Stars team, taking to social media to share his true thoughts about the decision to cast Spicer in a lengthy tweet.
“A few months ago, during a lunch with DWTS‘ new Executive Producer, I offered suggestions for Season 28,” he explained in said tweet, revealing that he wanted the show to stay away from politics (regardless of what party affiliation an individual may be associated with) and keep Dancing With The Stars as lighthearted and fun as possible, especially following an unprecedented year-long hiatus.
“Subsequently (and rather obviously), a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood, ‘go in a different direction,'” he continued passionately, before diving into the nitty-gritty. “It is the prerogative of the producers, in partnership with the network, to make whatever decisions they feel are in the best long term interests of the franchise. We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it’s their call.”
After casting someone who falls into the political sphere, the former Dancing With The Stars host continued to express how important it is to maintain the magic of the show. In his opinion, having Sean Spicer compete on Dancing With The Stars would taint said magic.
“Hopefully, when Erin Andrews and I look into those lenses again on September 16, you’ll be on the other side looking back, able to enjoy the charismatic pro dancers, the unpredictable judges, and the kitschy charm that has defined DWTS since 2005,” he concluded.
On the Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast, Bergeron reflected on his controversial post from a few years prior, ultimately standing his ground and revealing that if it had been a member of the Democratic Party, he would have released the same statement.
Coining this tweet as “the beginning of the end,” Bergeron was removed from the franchise after season 28.
Since then, Dancing With The Stars has had quite a few different hosts, experimenting with Tyra Banks from 2020 to 2022 before landing on Alfonso Ribero and Julianne Hough for 2023. To see their hosting skills in action, tune into season 32 of Dancing With The Stars every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm ET/PT on both ABC and Disney Plus, with next-day streaming on Hulu.