Derek Hough Reacts to Tyra Banks’ ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Exit

After two seasons as host, Tyra Banks announced her exit from Dancing With the Stars. Her tenure garnered tons of controversy and sometimes backlash from viewers, but her colleagues loved her. She’s set to focus on other projects as she continues to be the mogul she is. Derek Hough surely wasn’t stunned by Banks’ decision to leave.

“I wouldn’t say that it was surprising,” Derek exclusively told Us Weekly about Banks’ departure. “She’s got a lot on her plate and a lot of things happening in her future. She’s one person that will always work and will always be an entrepreneur and always create opportunities. And she’s a powerhouse.”

The six-time mirrorball trophy winner also shared a tidbit about how kind the former supermodel is, and shared that she even sent his sister, fellow dancer, and DWTS staple Julianne Hough, something special as Julianne will serve as her replacement. “Tyra was just unbelievably gracious — like really, truly, gracious, and I just have to give her absolute props,” he explained.  “She just sent Julianne the most beautiful message, and I’m just really grateful to her for her grace.”

Other notable DWTS staples have given Banks her kudos. In our chat with Maks and Val Chmerkovskiy, the famous brothers praised Banks for her contributions to the show, and expressed their excitement for Julianne to take over as co-host.

“Tyra, I think, brought a lot to the show. She brought a huge name to the show at a time when the world was going through a pandemic,” Maks said, adding, “I think she definitely filled out, as we got rid of the audience and we got rid of a lot of elements at that time, I think she came in and added a lot of necessary ingredients to the show. We celebrated her and we wish her nothing but the best in her upcoming endeavors. I, again, I’m going to speak on behalf of the show and myself, we thank her very much for her tenure on Dancing With The Stars.”

Val added: “I think Julianne is a great co-host to Alfonso Ribeiro. I’m excited to see him lead the way. He did a wonderful job last year. I think he’s got so much love for Dancing With The Stars. He’s got so much pride in being the host of Dancing With The Stars, as well as a once champion of Dancing With The Stars. I think he’s perfect for the show and Julianne is going to be a perfect compliment to that.”