‘DWTS’: Tom Bergeron Mocks Producer’s Claim There Was ‘Real Danger’ to Keeping Him and Erin Andrews

On Wednesday, Dancing With the Stars’ executive producer Andrew Llinares explained why the show decided to replace Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews as hosts. According to Us Weekly, Llinares told reporters that there was a “real danger” in keeping the status quo for so long. As a result, they decided to take the show in a new “creative” direction with the help of Tyra Banks, who was tapped to host and executive produce. In response to this new statement, Bergeron took to Instagram to address what Llinares had to say.

Llinares said, in part, that there was a “real danger” with keeping Bergeron and Andrews around as hosts, as the show is worried that viewers may get bored of the same rhythm that they’re producing. Bergeron didn’t waste any time in responding to what the producer said. On Instagram, he posted a screenshot of a headline from Cheat Sheet about the matter and wrote a message to his former co-host, Andrews, which read, “SEE, @erinandrews? I TOLD YOU we shouldn’t sabotage the spray tanner!!” To showcase how he really feels about the situation, he adding an eye roll emoji to the end of his message.

Back in July, both Bergeron and Andrews were fired from DWTS, which came as a major shock to the show’s fans. They later announced that Banks would be brought on as the host (she is also serving as one of the show’s executive producers). During ABC’s virtual fall press panel, Llinares opened up about these changes. “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 said on Wednesday. “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.”

He added that he believes that the show is working incredibly well with only one emcee. “I think it’s working brilliantly with the one host. I think it’s really refreshed the pace of the show, actually,” Llinares told reporters. “I think it’s taken it to a new pace, in terms of moving faster and just feeling different. I think there’s a real danger when a show’s been on for a long time that the audience almost gets bored of the rhythm. It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it. It just sort of gets a little boring — the rhythm of it. So, I think it’s changed the rhythm of the show in a really exciting way.”