Bobby Bones ‘Made Sure’ He Wasn’t The Reason Sharna Burgess Was Cut From ‘Dancing With The Stars’

Current mirrorball champion Bobby Bones wanted to “make sure” he wasn’t the reason professional Dancing with the Stars champion Sharna Burgess was cut from this season of the series by calling the show’s producers himself to get clarification regarding her untimely exit.

Bones suffered major backlash from fans because of his shocking win. Last season, he and Burgess found themselves in the final four alongside Keo Motsepe and Harry Potter Star Evanna Lynch, Witney Carson and Disney star Milo Manheim, and Instagram star Alexis Ren and Alan Bersten. Despite low judges’ scores all season, the couple was saved by fan votes.

“I think all of us were a little stunned by it,” Bones said to Entertainment Tonight. “Now why [she was cut], I don’t really know. I don’t even know if they’ve told her. She had been there the longest and was one of the more popular ones, so it could have been a budget thing. I’m not really quite sure how that happened but everyone was shocked by it.”

Bones revealed he realized something was amiss when he reached out to Burgess three or four days before the show was set to announce its celebrities and professionals for the new season on Good Morning America. He revealed that Burgess told him that she didn’t have a celebrity partner and that the show didn’t ask her to return. At the same time, Burgess’ longtime pal and fellow DWTS pro Artem Chigvintsev was not asked to return.

The popular radio personality then dropped a major reveal to the entertainment news site. He said he believed his win “broke the system” that was in place for 27 seasons of the reality dance competition series. He stated that the “network” told him that they were happy he won. According to Bones, the show is now able to reach out to celebrities who would have “never” agreed to compete on the series before because he couldn’t dance, and he eventually won the show’s coveted mirrorball trophy.

Bones will return to help show hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews usher in the 28th season of the series for its debut episode.

The Inquisitr previously reported that a surprise contestant might be joining Season 28 of the series, which will make its official debut in less than one week. While this rumor has not been officially confirmed by the series, fans are speculating that this could indeed be the case after a post on Twitter revealed that former pro Keo Motsepe was seen in Nashville, Tennessee, with fellow pro Gleb Savchenko. Fans speculated that Motsepe was meeting his rumored partner for the first time.

Motsepe has been a pro since Season 19 of the series, save for Season 23 when he was a troupe member. He and actress Evanna Lynch made it to the finals of Season 27 where they finished in third place.

Dancing with the Stars will air its premiere episode on Monday, September 16 on ABC.