Dancing with the Stars pro dancers are reacting to the shocking news that longtime host Tom Bergeron has been fired from ABC’s celebrity ballroom competition after 28 glitter-filled seasons.
The Emmy-winning ABC host, who has helmed DWTS since June, 2005, will not return for Season 29, nor will his longtime co-host Erin Andrews, as the show heads in a new “creative direction,” the network announced.
On social media, veteran dancers and contestants reacted to the bombshell announcement in comments to Bergeron’s latest Instagram post, seen here .
“Oh wow… Tom, you’re the best, total class act, a pro and just a great human. You’re one of the Greats. GOAT,” wrote veteran pro dancer Anna Trebunskaya.
“You’re my inspiration! You truly are! Love you!” wrote DWTS dancer Emma Slater.
“Tom, you are the best! ” added Season 28 pro dancer Pasha Pashkov.
“You’re a legend, Tom!” added troupe member Hayley Erbert.
Longtime DWTS pro dancers Alan Bersten, Sasha Farber, Tony Dovolani, Gleb Savchencko, and Brandon Armstrong also expressed their love for Bergeron in comments to his post.
Sharna Burgess, who won the Dancing With the Stars mirrorball trophy with celebrity radio personality Bobby Bones in 2018, posted two photos of Bergeron and Andrews to Instagram as she paid tribute to their contributions to the show. Sharna shared a photo of her hugging Andrews while Bergeron pointed his microphone in Bones’ direction after the duo’s epic freestyle that helped win them the Dancing With the Stars trophy back in Season 27. She also shared a pic of Bergeron and Andrews “flossing” during the freestyle dance — with Bergeron doing it literally.
In the touching tribute, seen below, Sharna described Bergeron and Andrews as “superstars” who she loved working with during her long run on the celebrity dancing show. In the caption to the photo, the pro dancer thanked the departing hosts for all of the memories.
It should be noted that Burgess was not asked back to Dancing With the Stars after her controversial win with Bones, and was presumed fired from the show alongside fellow pro dancer Artem Chigvintsev.
In addition to the pro dancers, many past Dancing With the Stars celebrities reacted to Bergeron’s firing on social media. Actress Lea Thompson, who competed on the show in Season 19 alongside pro partner Chigvintsev, wrote on Twitter, “There is no @DancingABC without you. They might as well cancel it. ”
While he was a beloved host, Bergeron was not without controversy. The DWTS emcee made headlines last fall when he called out D ancing With the Stars producers for casting former White House press secretary Sean Spicer as a contestant, per Good Morning America .
At the time, the longtime Dancing With the Stars host revealed he was disappointed by the casting of divisive characters from “any party affiliations.”