With every popular show comes a fair share of backlash. Ever since the 2005 debut of Dancing With the Stars, fans have been very vocal about what they do and don’t like — and who deserves to be on the show.
One of the biggest shakeups came ahead in July 2020 when Tom Bergeron announced that after hosting the show since the series premiere, he was axed from the show, along with cohost Erin Andrews. The sportscaster had joined him in 2014 and the duo quickly became fan favorites.
“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,” ABC and BBC said in a statement at the time. “Erin will also not be returning, and we appreciate all that she brought to the ballroom. 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.”
Bergeron noted that he saw his time on DWTS coming to an end ahead of being let go. “In all candor, the show that I left was not the show that I loved,” he said on an episode of the “Bob Saget’s Here for You” podcast in October 2021. “So, the end of the season that turned out to be my last season [in 2019], I kind of knew. So I took everything out of my dressing room that I really wanted. … It was kind of obvious that we were kind of butting heads.”
The show’s executive producer Andrew Llinares later opened up about the decision to cut Andrews and Bergeron and cast Tyra Banks as their replacement. (Alfonso Ribeiro joined as cohost during season 31.)
“I think it’s all about evolution. I think any show like this that has been on many, many seasons needs to continue to evolve,” he told reporters in September 2020. “I think changing the host was all about evolution, it was about making the show feel fresh, making it feel new [and] kind of make it reach out — maybe to a new audience as well, as well as the audience that’s been there for years.”
The hosts aren’t the only ones to start a controversy on the show! The judges, the pros and the celebrities have also made many headlines through the years. Scroll through the gallery below for some of the biggest moments.
