Disney Plus Alfonso Ribeiro on the season 31 premiere of 'Dancing With the Stars'
“Dancing With the Stars” aired its first episode on Disney Plus on Monday, September 19, and with it came a new co-host in the form of season 19 Mirrorball champ Alfonso Ribeiro. The fans were all over social media discussing how he did, with some already calling for him to take over as the permanent solo host and for the show to get rid of Tyra Banks.
Here’s what they’re saying:
Fans Can’t Get Enough of Alfonso Ribeiro
The majority of fans seem to be very excited about the addition to Ribeiro to the show. A Reddit thread titled “Alfonso is doing a great job” is full of comments praising the actor and TV host for thinking on his feet and bringing a lot of humor to the gig.
“Tyra really needed a co-host to rein her in, and he’s fantastic,” wrote one fan in the comments, and a second added, “His presence was sorely needed.”
A third fan wrote, “He’s doing so well. I love how genuine it comes off too. I’m glad they have him up in the Skybox.”
“He really helps to balance out all of Tyra’s energy and she did much better since she doesn’t have to do all the hosting on such a strict time crunch. His humour, energy and his relatability to the contestants are really great additions to the hosting of the show,” wrote a fourth fan.
Fans Think He Should Replace Tyra Banks Altogether
Who thinks that #DWTS should just get rid of Tyra and keep Alfonso as the host? 🙋🏻♀️
The commenter who started the Reddit thread said that they hope Ribeiro takes over for Banks altogether, writing, “I hope he eventually becomes the main host cause he is really doing a much better job than Tyra.”
There are also a lot of fans calling for Ribeiro to co-host with fired host Tom Bergeron, who was let go along with Erin Andrews after season 28.
A second fan replied, “Imagine Alfonso and [Tom] Bergeron together! (No Tyra.) Erin Andrews, too, if she wants 😊,” to which a third fan responded, “Alfonso and Tom would be a dream team!”
A fourth fan wrote, “Alfonso seems so much better at thinking on his feet than Tyra is, that’s the biggest thing I notice.”
“Tyra[‘s] biggest issue is she makes everything about her first, contestant second. She also can’t improvise. Alfonso is exact opposite — he knows how to highlight the contestants and react to what they say versus only using the script,” wrote another fan.
“Love Alfonzo. Disney needs to cut Tyra loose. She is not suited to host this show. She is quite honestly unbearable to listen to,” one viewer wrote, to which another replied, “I am hoping they brought him in to co-host for one season so they can cut her next year and he can run things solo or get a new host. Like, ease her out the door more palatably.”
On Twitter, there were similar comments about keeping Ribeiro and getting rid of Banks.
“Can we vote off Tyra and promote @alfonso_ribeiro and have another former contestant co-host? Like @LindseyStirling or @kaitlynbristowe? Literally ANYONE would be better at this point,” wrote one viewer.
Another wrote, “Who thinks that #DWTS should just get rid of Tyra and keep Alfonso as the host?”, and a third added, “Now that Alfonso is there, it’s even more clear that Tyra gotta go.”
A fourth wrote, “I watched the premiere of #DWTS, and I think @alfonso_ribeiro needs a better cohost. But it was overall a fun show. I haven’t paid attention to the show in a couple of years but got sucked into it this evening. Tyra needs to go, but Alfonso made the show much more fun.”
“Dancing With the Stars” airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific time on Disney Plus.