Tom Bergeron Reveals Why He Would ‘Never’ Return to Dancing With the Stars

Tom Bergeron is permanently closing the door to the possibility of ever returning to Dancing With the Stars.

More than three years after unceremoniously losing his job as host of ABC’s long-running competition series, Bergeron has weighed in on whether he would ever reclaim his emcee post.

More from TVLine

• Golden Bachelor Exec Explains Why They Cut the Number of Hometown Dates

• The Golden Bachelor Recap: Gerry Has to Make His Toughest Cuts Yet - and Says Goodbye to a Former Frontrunner

• Dancing With the Stars: Brian Austin Green Criticizes Fianceé Sharna Burgess' Exclusion From Len Goodman Tribute: 'She Deserved Better'

“No, never,” he maintained to ex-DWTS pro Cheryl Burke on the latest episode of her Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast, before going on to explain why: “It’s not the same show. It’s not the same world. I did it for [15] years; there’s no point. What would I prove?”

In the same interview, Bergeron admitted that the controversial casting of Donald Trump’s former White House press secretary Sean Spicer in Season 28 — ahead of the 2020 election — marked the beginning of the end for him. “I said, ‘Guys… don’t go there,'” he recalls. “‘This is not the right time, play to our strengths, be the show that gives people a break from all this bulls–t.”

The Powers That Be at DWTS refused to back down, prompting Bergeron to release a statement on social media expressing his disappointment with the decision (you can read that statement here).

“They had screwed me, [so] I’m gonna screw them,” he said of his decision to speak out. “But 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.

“At that moment, I knew [Season 28 was] probably my last season, because of that one betrayal,” he adds. “Up until that point, there were people of character there.”

Best of TVLine

• 'Missing' Shows, Found! The Latest on Upload, All Rise, Our Flag Means Death, The Gilded Age, Hacks and 25+ Others

• Summer TV Calendar: Your Guide to 85+ Season and Series Premieres

• Yellowjackets Mysteries: An Up-to-Date List of the Showtime Series' Biggest Questions (and Answers?)

Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter

Click here to read the full article.