‘Dancing With the Stars’ Host Tom Bergeron Says He Urged Producers to Eschew Politics

By Joe Otterson

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Dancing with the Stars” host Tom Bergeron has seemed to weigh in on the decision to cast former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on the ABC show.

In a statement posted on Twitter , Bergeron says he met with the show’s new executive producer months ago and felt that they had agreed to not cast anybody with “ANY [sic] divisive party affiliations.” He went on to say that he felt that he and the producer were on the same page in that regard following the meeting.

“It is the prerogative of the producers, in partnership with the network, to make whatever decisions they feel are in the best long-term interests of the franchise,” he wrote, without explicitly naming Spicer. “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.”

He concluded his statement by saying that he takes his position on the show and the connection he feels with the viewers at home very seriously, adding that he hopes the show is “a two hour escape from whatever life hassles you’ve been wrestling with.”

Spicer’s brief tenure as Press Secretary for the Trump administration was marked by a contentious relationship with the White House press corps and the media in general, as well as repeated instances of Spicer making false and misleading statements on behalf of the President. This is not the first time Spicer has been featured in the entertainment world, making a brief appearance onstage at the 2017 Emmy Awards. He was also famously parodied on “Saturday Night Live,” with Melissa McCarthy playing him on multiple occasions.