Tom Bergeron's return to Dancing with the Stars this week caused major drama with season 27 champion Bobby Bones.
November 12 Instagram video, Bones shared that he was “hurt” to hear former host Bergeron's comments about his controversial win over professional Sharna Burgess in 2019, and also revealed that he returned his “Merrorball” trophy to ABC.
Bergeron acted as a guest judge on the Nov. 11 episode of the dance competition “20th Anniversary Party.” For interview with Parade Before the episode, he was asked to name the most surprising eliminations during his years as host.
“The thing that shocked me the most was Bobby Bones winning,” he responded. “That's when I said, 'Uh-huh.' …. Bobby Bones for the first time… it was like, “Oh.” No disrespect to Bobby. He would probably say the same thing.”
Bones clapped in response to Bergeron's disdain in his video.
“It was hurtful, not because of what was said, but because of who said it… Should I not show up and work harder? Should I not give this fucking everything I have? Should I give it up and not win?” – he said.
“It's crazy how much hate I get, even from people I respect like Tom Bergeron and Julianne Hough… I feel like I'm in sixth grade and all the dancing ninth graders are pushing me into lockers,” Bones continued. (Hough appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in August 2024 and agreed with fellow guest Mickey Guyton that Bones was the winner, which they “strongly disagree with.” Eh! News reported at that time. Hough also said that Bones “wasn't the best dancer.”)
The radio host said the many “stray shots” he received from DWTS reps “drained all the joy” from his win.
“I had a great attitude, I worked hard, and here I am, six years later, still catching stray dogs out of nowhere,” he said. “So I sent the trophy back. Apparently they don't want me to be part of the show.”
Bones didn't specify in the video when he decided to return his Mirrorball trophy.
Following Bones' video, Bergeron apologized in a direct message, sharing a screenshot on his Instagram Story.
“Bobby, it was not my intention to hurt your feelings. My 'oops' was based on my sincere feeling that your victory speaks to the need to find a balance between judges and audience voting,” Bergeron wrote.
He further explained, “I've always been sorry that you and Sharna had to deal with the fallout from that victory, and I definitely regret rubbing salt into that old wound.”
At the top of the screenshot, Bergeron wrote, “I did so many interviews before the 20th that I was forced to say something inelegant,” and added a facepalm emoji.
Bones and Burgess won for the 27th season in 2018, beating runner-up Milo Manheim and pro Witney Carson. When the competition show returned for Season 28, a new element was added that allowed the judges to save one of the bottom two couples each week.
Currently, judges' scores are combined with viewer votes each week to determine who goes home.
