Former “DWTS” Host Samantha Harris Claims Producers Wanted Her to Look Less Like a Pro Dancer and More 'Pasty and Pudgy'

The television personality, who co-hosted the dance competition series from seasons 2-9, alleged producers told her to "gain weight" so viewers wouldn't confuse her for a pro dancer

Samantha Harris is sharing some shocking claims about Dancing with the Stars producers who allegedly asked her to change her appearance.

On the latest episode of the Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast, Harris — who co-hosted the ABC dance competition with Tom Bergeron from 2006 to 2009 — alleged that producers told her to “gain weight” and stop tanning in order to differentiate herself from the show’s pro dancers.

“I remember — I won't say who in the network or executive team said this — but I remember I got a note,” Harris, 50, claimed to podcast host and former pro Cheryl Burke. “I got actually called into a meeting and they said, ‘So Samantha, going to the next season...’ My interpretation was they said to me, ‘You need to be pasty and pudgy.’”

“But really what they said to me was you're getting too tan and too toned that the viewers — and I'd like to give all of you listening as viewers a lot more credit then what they said — but the viewers are confusing you with the dancers because you're too tanned and too toned,” she alleged.

Related: Samantha Harris Was Misdiagnosed for Months After Her Mammogram Came Back Clear: 'It Was Breast Cancer'

“And so that's confusing for them and they need to be able to relate to you as the host being basically a complete dichotomy next to the dancers," she continued, "so we need you to stop doing any self-tanning — which I'll be honest, I tanned as much as you guys did — and to gain weight.”

Reps for Dancing with the Stars declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE.

Related: Samantha Harris Says She Is 'Healthier Than Ever' After Surviving Breast Cancer (EXCLUSIVE)

Harris said she was able to take the request in stride because she was pregnant with daughter Josselyn Sydney, now 16, unbeknownst to the producers.

“I say usually you're told to lose weight. I was actually told to gain weight,” she claimed. “So, of course, I said, ‘Okay, of course, no problem. I got that covered’ because little did they know — it was too early for me to share yet — I was pregnant, so I wasn't going to be tanning because I didn't know what the chemicals were that would be seeping into my body and I was gonna be gaining weight. So there you go.”

Despite her secret, she admitted that she was “absolutely stunned” by the alleged request, adding, “I took a lot of pride in the fact that I was tanned and toned.”

Related: Erin Andrews Speaks Out as She and Tom Bergeron Exit DWTS, Says She'll 'Cherish' the Experience

After Harris left the show following season 9 in 2009, she was replaced by Brooke Burke. Burke co-hosted with Bergeron through season 17 in 2013 before she departed the series.

Sports broadcaster Erin Andrews then stepped into co-hosting duties and remained on the ABC dance competition series with Bergeron through season 28 in 2019. At the conclusion of season 28, it was announced that Andrews and Bergeron were both leaving the show.

In September 2020, model Tyra Banks was hired as the sole host for seasons 29-31. She announced her exit from the series in March 2023, and shortly after, it was confirmed that Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro would be stepping into the co-hosting gig.

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