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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteABC and BBC Studios did not give a detailed reason when they removed Tom Bergeron as host of Dancing with the Stars in July 2020. Their announcement described a “new creative direction.” Bergeron later linked his exit to his public criticism of the show’s 2019 casting of former White House press secretary Sean Spicer. That account is his own, and no public source found shows it was the network’s stated or sole reason for the change.
What the network said in July 2020
On July 14, 2020, ABC and BBC Studios announced that Bergeron and co-host Erin Andrews would leave the show after 28 seasons. Tyra Banks was named host and executive producer. The joint company statement described the change as a move into a “new creative direction.” It did not give a more specific reason for replacing the hosts, and the reporting available does not include an internal explanation from ABC or BBC Studios.
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The Spicer casting dispute
In August 2019, Bergeron publicly criticized the decision to cast Sean Spicer, who had been White House press secretary, as a contestant. He said he had hoped the show would be a refuge from partisan conflict, writing that he wanted it to be “a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations,” as quoted in TIME’s report of his statement.
The criticism was a public disagreement with a casting choice, made while Bergeron was still the host. It is the earliest documented friction between Bergeron and the production that appears in the reporting, but a public objection on its own does not show what the network weighed when it decided on new hosts a year later.
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Bergeron’s later account
In 2023, Global News reported that Bergeron, speaking on Cheryl Burke’s podcast, connected his departure to his criticism of producers over the Spicer casting. Global News also reported that DWTS had not issued an official response to those later comments. Bergeron’s account is a retrospective explanation of events, not a disclosed record of ABC’s decision-making.
In 2025, Bergeron told TV Insider that he had planned to leave after season 30 but ended up leaving two seasons earlier. He said the seasons affected by the COVID-19 pandemic would have lacked the camaraderie and time together that he had valued. That statement describes how he saw the timing of his exit. It does not explain why the network chose to replace him in 2020.
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Comparing the two accounts
| Source | Date | What it says | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABC and BBC Studios joint statement | July 14, 2020 | The show was moving in a “new creative direction”; Bergeron and Andrews would exit after 28 seasons; Tyra Banks would become host and executive producer. | The official public position and the leadership change. It gives no specific reason for the hosts’ removal. |
| Bergeron’s public statement, reported by TIME | August 2019 | He criticized the Spicer casting and said he hoped the show would avoid divisive political bookings. | His own public objection to the casting decision, made before the 2020 announcement. |
| Bergeron on Cheryl Burke’s podcast, reported by Global News | 2023 | He connected his departure to his criticism of producers over the Spicer casting. | His retrospective explanation. Global News reported that DWTS had not responded officially. |
| Bergeron interview with TV Insider | 2025 | He had planned to leave after season 30 but left two seasons early; the pandemic-era seasons would have lacked the camaraderie he valued. | His view of the timing of his exit. It is not evidence of the network’s reasoning in 2020. |
What can and cannot be concluded
- The network’s stated reason is the “new creative direction” language in its July 2020 announcement. No more specific reason was given in the reporting reviewed.
- Bergeron’s criticism of the Spicer casting is documented in 2019 reporting, and he later tied it to his exit in 2023. Those are two separate public statements by him, not a company disclosure.
- Neither ABC nor BBC Studios has been reported as confirming that the Spicer dispute influenced the decision. The sources also do not show that Tyra Banks’s appointment alone explains his departure.
- Bergeron’s 2025 remarks concern when he left, not why the network acted when it did. Treating them as an explanation for the 2020 decision would overstate what he said.
The most accurate answer is that Bergeron’s exit was announced by the network as a change in creative direction, while Bergeron himself has linked it to his earlier criticism of the Spicer casting. The public record does not establish which factor, if either, was decisive inside the company.
If you want to follow the story further, the most reliable sources are the original July 14, 2020 announcement from ABC and BBC Studios and the full interviews from which TIME, Global News and TV Insider quoted Bergeron. Reports that restate these quotes without the original context tend to present his comments as settled fact, so check the wording against the full interview before relying on it.
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