Tom Bergeron detailed what exactly went down ahead of his exit from Dancing with the Stars in 2020 after coming into conflict with the show’s producers over Sean Spicer’s casting.
It was a preference that ultimately led to the longtime host’s exit from Dancing with the Stars. After ABC cast Sean Spicer, the former Press Secretary for President Donald Trump, in 2019, despite Tom’s urging against casting anyone with political affiliations ahead of what would likely be a contentious election year, the television personality knew his time on the show was coming to an end.
“In the summer of 2019, I had two lunches, one with that showrunner person and another one with his boss,” Tom remembered during his Oct. 23 appearance on fellow DWTS alum Cheryl Burke’s podcast, Sex, Lies and Spray Tans.
“I said, ‘Well look, 2019 is the threshold to an election year in America, we are a very divided country. Just nobody, of any party, don’t go there—just make us the wonderful escape from all that divisiveness for two hours a week.”
But despite the 68-year-old saying both show execs agreed with him in the moment, casting told a different story.
“And then a few weeks later, I get a phone call,” he continued. “And they rundown the list of who is going to be on the show, and this former showrunner says to me, ‘You might want to sit down for this last one.’ And then they told me who it was, the former press guy for Trump. I said, ‘Guys, this is exactly what we said we wouldn’t do. Don’t go there. This is not the right time, play to our strengths, be the show that gives people a break from all this bulls–t.”
And during the same conversation, in response to the casting choice, Tom Bergeron recalled suggesting he take the season off, only to have the showrunner and producer on the phone say they could let him out of the three-season contract he’d recently signed if he preferred it.
“And that really pissed me off,” Tom noted, explaining it was this move that led him to releasing his 2019 statement regarding the White House alum’s casting a move he clarified he would have made even if the contestant had been of his preferred political party.
So when Sean’s casting was announced on Good Morning America, Tom Bergeron remembered, “My phone started blowing up. People were outraged. At that moment I knew, this was probably my last season. Because of that one betrayal. Because I’d been lied to by people who were in charge. Up until that point, there were people of character there.”
The Americas Funniest Home Videos alum would eventually part ways with the competition show in 2020, ahead of the series’ 29th season.
He tweeted at the time, “Just informed [Dancing With the Stars] will be continuing without me. It’s been an incredible 15 year run and the most unexpected gift of my career. I’m grateful for that and for the lifelong friendships made. That said, now what am I supposed to do with all of these glitter masks?”