Former Dancing With The Stars Host Tom Bergeron Opens Up About Firing from ABC's Competition Series | THR News Video - video Dailymotion

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The 68-year-old left the reality series in 2020 after being openly critical the casting of Donald Trump’s White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer in the show’s 28th season. Find out all the details in this video.

Transcript

00:00 Former Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron is not holding back when opening up about

00:04 being fired from the ABC reality competition series.

00:08 The 68-year-old left the series in 2020 after being openly critical of the casting of Donald

00:13 Trump's White House press secretary Sean Spicer in the show's 28th season.

00:18 Speaking with The Sex Lies and Spraytans podcast, Bergeron detailed the bitter split after hosting

00:23 the hit show for 15 years.

00:25 Bergeron says he had just signed a new contract for three seasons and during pre-production

00:30 for that season had urged them not to cast any political figures due to the pending presidential

00:35 election and the increasingly divisive climate.

00:38 He says the producers seemingly enthusiastically agreed, but then a few weeks later he got

00:43 a phone call from two producers giving him a heads up that Spicer was being cast anyway.

00:47 "I said, 'Guys, this is exactly what we said we wouldn't do,' and I would have responded

00:52 the same way if they had booked Hillary Clinton, whom I voted for.

00:55 Don't go there.

00:56 This is not the right time.

00:57 Play to our strengths.

00:58 Be the show that gives people a break from all this bullshit.

01:01 So I was furious."

01:02 Bergeron says he offered to take the season off, so producers countered by offering to

01:07 let him out of his contract entirely.

01:09 "It really pissed me off.

01:10 My temper kicked in.

01:12 I was at least going to let people know that they f---ing lied to me."

01:15 Bergeron took to Twitter in August of 2019 and let his frustration over the casting be

01:20 known.

01:21 He said he nonetheless hosted the show for the season, with Spicer being voted out after

01:25 eight weeks of mocking from social media and the show's judges.

01:29 But he says he knew, "This is probably my last season, because of that one betrayal.

01:33 My lawyer had said to me, 'It's really well written, but you're putting a bullseye on

01:36 your back.'"

01:37 In July, Bergeron announced that he was leaving Dancing With the Stars and co-host Erin Andrews

01:42 departed the show as well.

01:44 America's Next Top Model creator and host Tyra Banks was announced as the show's new

01:47 host before leaving earlier this year with Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough taking

01:52 over for season 32.

01:54 For more on this story, head to THR.com.

01:57 And for the latest entertainment news and updates, keep watching The Hollywood Reporter

02:01 News.

02:02 The Hollywood Reporter News is a production of The Hollywood Reporter.

Former Dancing With The Stars Host Tom Bergeron Opens Up About Firing from ABC's Competition Series | THR News Video

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