UPDATE (7/14/20, 11:45 a.m. ET): The day after ABC confirmed that Erin Andrews and Tom Bergeron would not be on the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars, Erin took to Instagram to release a brief statement. “Thank you ABC and the entire Dancing With the Stars family for 6 memorable seasons,” she wrote. “Those years wouldn’t have been as special without my loving co-host Tom Bergeron, the talented dancers and witty judges. I will always cherish my days on that set, even if I wasn’t the best at walking in heels.”
UPDATE (7/13/20, 8:41 p.m. ET): Within an hour of Tom Bergeron announcing his departure from Dancing with the Stars, ABC and BBC Studios revealed that they’re also letting go of Tom’s co-host Erin Andrews. The famous sportscaster had been hosting the show since 2014, beginning in Season 18. She also competed on the show in Season 10, which aired in 2010.
“Tom Bergeron will forever be part of the Dancing with the Stars family. As we embark on a new creative direction, he departs the show with our sincerest thanks and gratitude for his trademark wit and charm that helped make this show a success. Erin will also not be returning, and we appreciate all that she brought to the ballroom,” ABC and BBC Studios announced in a joint statement issued to HollywoodLife on July 13. The statement continued, “Fans have been rooting for her since she originally competed as a contestant back in 2010, and her signature sense of humor has become a hallmark of the show.”
ORIGINAL: Tom Bergeron, 65, has learned sad news: he will no longer be hosting Dancing with the Stars, a job that he’s held since 2005. “Just informed @DancingABC will be continuing without me. It’s been an incredible 15 year run and the most unexpected gift of my career. I’m grateful for that and for the lifelong friendships made,” he tweeted on July 13. Keeping the mood lighthearted, the jovial TV host added, “That said, now what am I supposed to do with all of these glitter masks?”
Just informed @DancingABC will be continuing without me. It's been an incredible 15 year run and the most unexpected gift of my career. I'm grateful for that and for the lifelong friendships made. That said, now what am I supposed to do with all of these glitter masks?
— Tom Bergeron (@Tom_Bergeron) July 13, 2020
HollywoodLife has reached out to ABC for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication. Tom has kept his good sense of humor, regardless. In response to Tom’s upsetting message, comedian Randy Rainbow tweeted, “I’ll be right over” with a sparkling heart emoji. Tom replied, “On the plus side, Now I’m free for our socially distanced lunch!”
On the plus side, Now I'm free for our socially distanced lunch! https://t.co/XjD3MLIJWx
— Tom Bergeron (@Tom_Bergeron) July 13, 2020
Tom didn’t say why he was let go from his longtime gig, and still made it seem like he’d be returning to the dancing competition show just two weeks ago. On June 23, he shared a promotional photo for Season 29 of DWTS and joked, “I wonder if the spray tan equipment can be refit as body sanitizers?” DWTS was renewed at the end of May, and is set to return this fall of 2020. However, no official premiere date was given after the coronavirus outbreak halted production for many shows in the United States.
Fans were left both devastated and angry over the news of Tom’s sudden departure. “No!!!!! You are the best. And all class,” television journalist Maria Stephanos responded on Twitter, while fellow reporter Desiree Murphy wrote, “Tom, thank you for 15 years of pure joy. You will be missed. I cannot imagine the show without you :(.” Tom’s Twitter mentions were filled with similar notes, like, “Nobody can replace you Tom, you were the heart and soul of that show and everybody knows it. What a loss to them that they are continuing without you. Deeply saddened and angry about this. WE LOVE YOU.”
Tom is a beloved face on TV, and also hosted America’s Funniest Home Videos between 2001-2015. Prior to that role, he hosted Hollywood Squares between 1998-2004. [SPOILER] Tom also recently competed as the Taco on Season 3 of The Masked Singer, which aired its finale in March of 2020.
In Aug. 2019, Tom made it known that he was uncomfortable with the casting of Sean Spicer, the White House’s former press secretary and communications director amid Donald Trump’s term, ahead of Season 28. “A few months ago, during a lunch with ‘DWTS’ new Executive Producer [Andrew Llinares], I offered suggestions for Season 28. Chief among them was my hope that ‘DWTS,’ in its return following an unprecedented year-long hiatus, would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations,” Tom tweeted at the time.
“I left that lunch convinced we were in agreement. Subsequently (and rather obviously), a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood, ‘go in a different direction,'” he continued in the Twitter statement. “It is the prerogative of the producers, in partnership with the network, to make whatever decisions they feel are the best long term interests of the franchise. We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it’s their call. I’ll leave it to them to answer any further questions about those decisions.”