Tom Bergeron opens up about the ‘betrayal’ he experienced before his ‘DWTS’ exit

Tom Bergeron is opening up about his exit from "Dancing with the Stars."

The veteran TV host, 68, said during the Oct. 23 episode of the "Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans" podcast that he was fired from the star-studded reality dance competition in 2020 after objecting to the casting of former White House press secretary Sean Spicer the previous year.

Bergeron told the podcast's host, Cheryl Burke, a pro dancer who retired from "DWTS" in November 2022 after 26 seasons, that he had previously been assured by the show's bosses that a political figure wouldn't be cast for Season 28.

Bergeron, who had hosted “DWTS” since it debuted in June 2005, explained that he felt strongly that the show should give viewers a weekly escape from the political divisiveness in the U.S.

According to Bergeron, the program's then-showrunner and its producers, whom he did not mention by name, went back on their word and Spicer was cast. “And I said, ‘Guys, this is exactly what we said we wouldn’t do,’” the Emmy winner recalled telling higher-ups.

“And I would have responded the same way if they had booked Hillary Clinton, whom I voted for. ‘Don’t go there. This is, you know, not the right time. Play to our strengths. Be the show that gives people a break from all this bulls---.’ So, I was furious," Bergeron added.

TODAY.com has reached out to ABC and "Dancing with the Stars" for comment. Andrew Llinares, an executive producer of the show during Spicer’s season, declined comment.

Bergeron told Burke he was so dead set against Spicer's appearance that he offered to step aside as host that season.

The program's showrunner responded by telling Bergeron that if he took a season off, he could be let out of his contract entirely, according to the host. “That really pissed me off," Bergeron said, adding that his "temper kicked in."

“I was at least going to let people know that they f------ lied to me," he said.

In August 2019, shortly after "DWTS" announced that Spicer would appear as a contestant on Season 28 of the show, Bergeron took the unprecedented move of tweeting his disapproval.

Bergeron said in his since-deleted tweet that he had lunch months before with the show's new executive producer.

During the lunch, he explained that he wanted "DWTS" to be "a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations," he wrote in his tweet.

"I left that lunch convinced we were in agreement," he added.

“Subsequently (and rather obviously), a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood, ‘go in a different direction,'" he wrote, adding, "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.”

Bergeron told Burke that he wasn't alone in his disapproval, saying people were "outraged" by Spicer's casting.

He also said he knew at the time that it would be his last season on the show. "Because of that one betrayal," he explained. "Because I had been lied to by people who were in charge."

Bergeron said he didn't notify "DWTS" producers ahead of time that he'd be speaking out on Twitter about their casting decisions. "They didn't deserve to know. 'They had screwed me, I’m gonna screw them,'" he recalled thinking.

"I wanted the viewers to know this was a step too far to me. This was a step too far on the cusp of an election year," he explained, reiterating again that he would have objected to any political figure regardless of party affiliation being cast.

"It wasn't about my political beliefs. It was about my feeling about the show," he said. "What is this show at its best? And what was happening was we were suddenly becoming this show at its worst."

Though Bergeron ended up hosting Spicer's season of "DWTS," he announced in July 2020 the show would continue without him. Co-host Erin Andrews exited at the same time.

Bergeron was replaced by "America’s Next Top Model" creator and host Tyra Banks.

Former "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star Alfonso Ribeiro joined Banks as co-host for Season 31. Ribeiro and former "DWTS" dancer Julianne Hough are now sharing hosting duties in Season 32.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com