TV

On Cheryl Burke's podcast, Tom claims that his departure had something to do with the casting of Sean Spencer, former Press Secretary for President Donald Trump.

• Oct 25, 2023

AceShowbiz - Tom Bergeron opened up about a betrayal that led to his "Dancing with the Stars" exit. During his appearance on former "DWTS" pro Cheryl Burke's "Sex, Lies and Spray Tans" podcast, Tom claimed that his departure from the show had something to do with Sean Spencer, former Press Secretary for President Donald Trump, who joined the show's season 28.

"In the summer of 2019, I had two lunches-one with that showrunner person and another one with his boss," Tom, who hosted the show for 15 years, recalled in the Monday, October 23 episode of the podcast. "I said, 'Well look, 2019 is the threshold to an election year in America, we are a very divided country. Just nobody, of any party, don't go there-just make us the wonderful escape from all that divisiveness for two hours a week.' "

He shared that the two show executives agreed with him at the time, so he saw Sean's casting as a betrayal. "And then a few weeks later, I get a phone call," he continued. "And they rundown the list of who is going to be on the show, and this former showrunner says to me, 'You might want to sit down for this last one.' And then they told me who it was, the former press guy for Trump. I said, 'Guys, this is exactly what we said we wouldn't do. Don't go there. This is not the right time, play to our strengths, be the show that gives people a break from all this bulls**t.' "

In response to the casting choice, Tom suggested that he would take a break for that season. The showrunner and the producer, however, pissed Tom off even further when they told him that they could let him cancel the 3-season contract he'd recently signed if he wanted it.

He later recounted the moment Sean's casting was announced on "Good Morning America". "My phone started blowing up. People were outraged," the 68-year-old told Cheryl. "At that moment I knew, this was probably my last season. Because of that one betrayal. Because I'd been lied to by people who were in charge. Up until that point, there were people of character there."