Heavy/Getty/ABC Tom Bergeron.
Tom Bergeron was the face of “Dancing with the Stars” for 15 years. By the time he exited the celebrity ballroom competition, he had 28 seasons under his belt. Bergeron was replaced by Tyra Banks in 2020.
Bergeron has admitted that he butted heads with producers during his final season on the show and wasn’t surprised by his firing. But in an October 2023 interview on Cheryl Burke’s “Sex, Lies and Spray Tans” podcast, he revealed he was hurt by one thing that took place after his exit.
“You know what really hurt the most?” he told Burke. “For their 30th season, they did a whole special and they didn’t have one clip of me in it. There was not even a clip at all. I didn’t watch it, but I got all kinds of tweets and texts from people. And I thought, you know, that’s bulls***. That kind of stuff is really petty, I think. So, I didn’t watch it but when I was told ‘There wasn’t even a clip of you.’ I thought okay, alright.”
“When they said they were moving the show in a new direction and after firing me and how I would always be part of the family you could smell the bulls*** right off the page,” he added.
Season 30 Came & Went With No Mention of Tom Bergeron
The milestone 30th season of “Dancing with the Stars” premiered on September 20, 2021. It marked Banks’ second season as the show’s solo host.
The cast featured the first-ever same-sex dancing team with JoJo Jiwa and Jenna Johnson. In addition, a controversial casting decision came with the addition of YouTube influencer Olivia Jade, the daughter of college admission scandal couple Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli.
Fans had hoped to see Bergeron come back for the show’s 30th season.
“Really hope #dwts invites Tom back for some kind of 30th anniversary celebration. He’s basically synonymous with the show,” one fan tweeted at the time.
“Ugh no, where is @Tom_Bergeron, the audacity to do a 30th season celebration without him #dwts @DancingABC #abc #bringback,” another wrote.
Bergeron Knew His Days Were Numbered at ‘Dancing with the Stars’
While he expressed disappointment over not getting a mention during the 30th anniversary celebration, Bergeron has said the show he left differed from the show he started on in 2005.
In September 2021. Just as season 30 aired, Bergeron appeared on Bob Saget’s “Here For You” podcast where he spoke about his exit from DWTS. “In all candor, the show that I left was not the show that I loved,” Bergeron told Saget. “The end of the season that turned out to be my last season, I kind of knew.”
He also revealed that he cleared out his dressing room at the end of season 28 because he had a strong feeling about his status on the show.
On Burke’s podcast, Bergeron revealed that he had planned to leave “Dancing with the Stars” after season 30 regardless.
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