Getty Samantha Harris, Brooke Burke and Erin Andrews were all co-hosts on "Dancing With the Stars."
Former “Dancing With the Stars” co-host Brooke Burke is finally telling the whole story about her firing from the ABC celebrity ballroom competition – nearly 10 years after it took place.
Brooke won the 7th season of the ABC celebrity ballroom competition with pro partner Derek Hough in 2008. She served as Tom Bergeron’s co-host on the show for seven seasons starting in 2010 until her firing in 2014.
In an October 2023 appearance on Cheryl Burke’s iHeart podcast, “Sex, Lies and Spray Tans,” she shared new details about her exit.
Brooke Burke Will Never Go Back to ‘Dancing With the Stars’
On the podcast, Cheryl asked Brooke if she would ever consider returning to “Dancing With the Stars.”
“That’s a really hard question,” Brooke admitted. “I’m going to say no if you want a yes or no. The no, it’s because of the exit. The no is because of the style. The no is because of integrity and respect… just to myself.”
“Being let go from that show, the timing, the way, the process, the conversation,” she continued. “It was such a pivot in my life. …Iit was just like such an ‘ohh my God’ to get a phone call in the middle of prepping for a TV season… it was a little jarring.”
Brooke has unanswered questions to this day and would have preferred to have had discussions with producers leading up to her exit.
“Because it’s OK to change hosts,” she said. “I really do believe that you change hosts when there’s a reason or a need or a pivot. But I sort of feel like it should have been a community exchange.”
Brooke Burke Shared the Details of Her Firing From DWTS
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When Cheryl asked her exactly what went down on the day she was fired, Brooke told her, “So just to be direct, we were getting ready for the season, we were like painting the dressing room and everybody was booked, glam, hair, makeup. Like we’re getting ready to start production so when I got that call that morning that I wouldn’t be coming back.”
“It was unexpected,” she continued. “I wasn’t given a reason, I think that’s the frustrating part. It would have been one thing if I sucked at the job or I had an issue or I had a falling out or I was a diva or really complicated to work with or the audience just straight out didn’t like me. There really wasn’t a reason.”
Brooke said her immediate reaction was shock and confusion. “I think I was in the middle of building a house,” she explained. “It wasn’t just they were replacing me and I’m not going to get to host ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ I haven’t had an opportunity to secure any other work. This is a year of my life that I planned for because I show up for work, show up on time with professionalism.”
She also would have appreciated a heads up, saying, “It was just shocking. And the audience didn’t dig it either, as we all know.”
Brooke Burke Still Considers Tom Bergeron a Friend & a Mentor
GettyTom Bergeron and Brooke Burke.
Brooke also said she stays in touch with her co-host Tom Bergeron, describing him as “amazing, by the way” and a great “mentor.”
After second-guessing her skills, Brooke decided to make light of her firing with a clever social media announcement. On February 22, 2014, Brooke posted to Twitter to tell fans: “Weird day….Shocking pre-season elimination #DWTS…ME. @Tom_Bergeron didn’t even read my name. I won’t be returning to the show this season.”
She also released a statement to E! Online, where she joked, “I’ve seen my fair share of shocking eliminations in the ballroom, but this one takes the cake.”
Brooke told “Sex, Lies and Spray Tans” that her “elimination” from “Dancing With the Stars” had allowed her to take a look at her life and reinvent herself.
“But the style in which it happened was s*****,” she added.”I didn’t think I was met with the same respect that I gave the show.”
Season 18 premiered weeks later on March 17, 2014, with new co-host Erin Andrews alongside Bergeron.
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