‘SNL’: How Tom Bergeron Reacted to ‘Hollywood Squares’ Parody in Season Finale

Saturday Night Live’s Season 46 finale featured a blast from the past in the form of a sketch about Hollywood Squares. Of course, this wasn’t like the Hollywood Squares that you might have been used to. Nonetheless, Tom Bergeron, who originally hosted the program, loved the skit and Beck Bennett’s impersonation of him.

Bergeron hosted Hollywood Squares from 1998 to 2004. There was an interesting mix of celebrities that took part in the episode, as the events took place years before many of them would become involved in scandals. The line-up included Bill Cosby (played by Kenan Thompson), Jared from Subway (played by Kyle Mooney), and Matt Lauer (played by Alex Moffat). Due to the scandalous nature of some of the contestants, in addition to some of the inappropriate comments that they said during the faux broadcast, Hollywood Squares omitted some of the content, providing for a very unorthodox re-run.

Bergeron clearly loved the skit, as he said so on Instagram. He posted a still from the clip and noted that the sketch could be found on his own Instagram account, as well. The former America’s Funniest Home Videos host had some praise for Bennett, in particular, for being “a more enthusiastic me on Holly(woke) Squares.” Bergeron ended his caption with a laughing face emoji and a thumbs-up emoji to indicate that the skit received his seal of approval.

While Bergeron is a well-known host in the television landscape, you won’t find him as the host of Dancing With the Stars any longer. In July 2020, he shocked fans by sharing that he had been fired from DWTS after 15 years in the position. He infused a bit of humor in his statement about the move, as he wrote, “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?” Not only did the network fire Bergeron, but they fired his co-host, Erin Andrews. ABC later released a statement about the firings in which they said that they were moving the show in a new “creative direction” with the upcoming season. It was subsequently announced that Tyra Banks would join the show as the solo host and an executive producer.