Former “Dancing With the Stars” host Tom Bergeron has opened up about being fired from the dancing competition series. On an episode of comedian and actor Bob Saget’s podcast, the TV host said that he didn’t really mourn the loss of “Dancing With the Stars” the way one might expect because it wasn’t the show he once loved.
Bergeron Knew His Firing Was Coming
On Saget’s podcast — Bergeron and Saget became friends when they filmed a special episode of “America’s Home Videos” together, a show which they both hosted — Bergeron said the writing was on the wall and the show was not the same show he fell in love with.
“In all candor, the show that I left was not the show that I loved,” said Bergeron. “So at the end of the season that turned out to be my last season, I kind of knew. I took everything out of my dressing room that I really wanted because I just felt like it was kind of obvious that we were kind of butting heads and it wasn’t a pleasant [time].”
There was no “blue period” of mourning the show, Bergeron added, because he and co-host Erin Andrews “had more fun being fired than virtually anybody.”
“When I found out who they replaced me with and that that person had the same initials as me, my tweet was, ‘Well, I guess I’m not getting back my monogrammed towels,'” added Bergeron.
But Bergeron Said The Majority of His Time There Was Great
On the podcast, Bergeron reiterated that he and the top personnel butted heads over a certain casting choice in season 28 and Bergeron felt “misled” after being reassured the show would stay apolitical.
“I was really quite caught by surprise and taken aback and felt a bit misled and prepared a statement that I released that did not specify a person or a party — because that was never the issue with me — whether it was somebody that I voted for or didn’t, I didn’t think a political person was an appropriate booking for the show,” said Bergeron, adding, “I don’t think that sat well with the producer or the network.”
But he looks back at his time on the show with “great fondness.”
“The bottom line for me is the great majority of the time that I was there,” said Bergeron, adding that he hopes viewers will still support his many friends who are still a part of the show.
“I look back at the time I spent there with really great fondness for the vast majority of it and also there are people there on the show performing that I still care about and I want them to have long careers, so I want people to still watch it and support them,” said Bergeron. “Understand that, sure, it’s different, but there are still very, very talented people who are gonna be on your screens.”
As for what’s next for Bergeron, he filmed a pilot for a reboot of the classic TV game show “Tic-Tac-Dough” over the summer and is waiting to hear if it has been ordered to series at NBC. He also starred in the web comedy series “Down the Middle.”
“Dancing With the Stars” season 30 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on ABC.
READ NEXT: Former Pro Would Return If ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Asked
No comments:
Post a Comment