'Dancing with the Stars' Host Upset with Ex-Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer's Inclusion on Show
Paul Morigi / Getty Images for Capital Concerts Show host Tom Bergeron onstage at A Capitol Fourth concert at the U.S. Capitol, West Lawn, on July 4, 2016, in Washington, D.C. (Paul Morigi / Getty Images for Capital Concerts)
By Joe Setyon
Published August 21, 2019 at 2:33pm
The announcement Wednesday morning that former White House press secretary Sean Spicer would be a contestant on the upcoming season of “Dancing with Stars” was met by many with dismay.
And among those voicing their discontent was Tom Bergeron, the show’s longtime host.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Bergeron recalled that he met with the show’s executive producer several months ago and expressed “my hope that DWTS, in its return following an unprecedented year-hiatus, would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably decisive booking from ANY political affiliations.”
“I left that lunch convinced we were in agreement,” he added. Bergeron wouldn’t be happy for long.
“Subsequently (and rather obviously), a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood, ‘go in a different direction,'” he added.
“It is the prerogative of the producers, in partnership with the network, to make whatever decisions they feel are in 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,” he added.
“For me, as host, I always gaze into the camera’s lens and imagine you on the other side, looking for a two hour escape from whatever life hassles you’ve been wrestling with,” Bergeron wrote, “even if I occasionally season it with dad jokes.”
Poster Comment:
The wipers don't work and horn don't blow, but there ain't nothing wrong with the radio.