Paul Dailly
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Tom Bergeron was once the host of Dancing With the Stars.
After being shockingly fired from the series in 2020 alongside then-cohost Erin Andrews, the series has struggled to fill the void.
Years later, Bergeron is opening up about the road to his departure to former DWTS pro Cheryl Burk on her Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast.
Tom Bergeron Was Against The Series Featuring Political Figures
Bergeron had been vocal about not wanting political figures on the show because he believed that fans tuned into the show for escapism from what was happening in the country.
Initially, the host said that producers agreed, but it changed quickly when he received a phone call from a showrunner and a producer who opened up about the potential candidates for the season.
“And this former showrunner says to me, ‘You might want to sit down for this last one.’ I said ‘Why?’ And then they told me who it was,” he continued.
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Bergeron seemingly hinted at ex-White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s appearance as “the former press guy for [then-President Donald] Trump.”
“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 bulls—.”
Tom Bergeron Offered to Sit Out of Sean Spicer’s Season
Bergeron doubled down and even suggested that he “take the season off,” but that was allegedly met with the showrunner and producer saying they would “let you out of your contract if you want.”
When Spicer’s casting was announced, Bergeron attempted to be “Switzerland,” but that didn’t work out when “his temper kicked in.”
At the time, Bergeron released a statement condemning Spicer’s casting.
“Chief among them was my hope that DWTS, in its return following an unprecedented year-hiatus, would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably decisive booking from ANY political affiliations,” Bergeron wrote at the time.
“Subsequently (and rather obviously), a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood, ‘go in a different direction,'” the TV host added.
“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,” he added.
“We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it’s their call.
“I’ll leave it to them to answer any further questions about those decisions,” Bergeron wrote in the aforementioned Tweet.
Bergeron went on to speak about the statement on the podcast.
“So I wrote the statement that I wrote, that did not name anybody, that did not name a political party,” he continued.
“It merely said, ‘I was told certain things when I was asked my opinion, they agreed, and now they’ve thrown a curveball.’
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“I even went so far as to say it’s their right to do that.
“They’re the producers of the show, if that’s what they want to do they are entitled to do that. We will have to agree to disagree.”
Bergeron had been a staple on the show since its launch on ABC and recognized that the statement could lead to issues, so he turned to a lawyer to get their perspective.
The lawyer said the statement didn’t target anyone, but it would put a “bullseye on your back.”
Tom Bergeron Doesn’t Think the Network or DWTS Producers Deserved to Hear the Statement in Advance
Burke questioned whether the network or the show were in the know about the statement before its release, Bergeron believed “they didn’t deserve to know.”
“They had screwed me. I’m gonna screw them,” he recalled feeling.
“But I wanted the viewers to know this was a step too far to me.
“This was a step too far on the cusp of an election year. And again — had it been a Democrat, same statement.”
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.