What happened with Sean Spicer? Controversy explained as Tom Bergeron reveals he was fired over the 2020 casting

Television personality, comedian, and game/ reality show host Tom Bergeron recently appeared for an exclusive interview with Parade and revealed he was fired from hosting duties of Dancing With the Stars in June 2020, alongside co-host Erin Andrews, ahead of its 29th season.

Before that, Bergeron, 70, hosted the show for 28 seasons from 2005 to 2019.

“The truth of the matter is, I wouldn’t have been the host now anyway, even if they hadn’t fired me… I left ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ at a predetermined time of my own choosing, and I was going to do that on Dancing,” Tom explained.

He reportedly had two more seasons left on his contract and had eventually exited the show himself after the 30th season.

“I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy. Those last two seasons were [during] COVID, so everything I love about the show — the camaraderie, throwing mid-season parties for the whole gang — I couldn’t have done that,” Tom Bergeron stated.

During a 2023 podcast appearance, he revealed that he sat with the producers and decided to keep politics out of the ballroom. However, eventually they did not keep their word. When he offered to sit out the 29th season, he was fired.

While Bergeron didn’t disclose the reason he was fired, at the time, Sean Spicer’s appearance on Dancing With the Stars stirred a controversy. Tom, himself, had expressed his frustration about the casting of Trump’s former political aide on the dance reality show.

Tom Bergeron made his return on DWTS on its 20th anniversary special, on November 11, as a guest judge. Last week, he appeared on Good Morning America and made the revelation.

“To be honest, had I gone the whole 30 seasons, this is probably the way I’d go back anyway,” Bergeron told Parade.

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All you need to know about Sean Spicer’s ‘Dancing With the Stars’ gig amid Tom Bergeron’s return reveal

Sean Spicer is a former naval officer and political commentator/ aide who served as the 28th White House Press Secretary and Communications Director under the 2017 Trump administration. He resigned six months later and was replaced by Anthony Scaramucci. Before that, he was also the Communications Director and chief strategist of the Republican National Committee.

In August 2019, when Spicer was announced as a participant of the 28th season of Dancing With the Stars, he faced a lot of criticism, including from Tom Bergeron and other ABC executives who called for his ousting.

Bergeron tweeted back then:

“Chief among was my hope that DWTS, in its return following an unprecedented year-long hiatus, would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations.”

He also mentioned that he was “convinced” that the producers were in “agreement” with him, but clearly, he was mistaken. Tom shared that the decision that was ultimately taken went in a “different direction” than what was discussed.

“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. We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it's their call,” Bergeron added.

Meanwhile, Sean Spicer shared he was “excited to join a great cast and show” and was ready to “have some fun.”

According to Vanity Fair, Spicer’s dancing skills were not up to the mark. However, since Trump endorsed him on social media, fans from around the country voted for him to stay on until November.

At the time, the judges, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, expressed their confusion and irritation with the voting system, seemingly because there were better dancers than Sean on the show.

Meanwhile, Sean Spicer mentioned how his goal was to represent all Americans who were “overlooked and forgotten” for their lack of “rhythm and move.”

Later, after he was eliminated in the quarter finals, Donald Trump wrote on X:

“A great try by @seanspicer. We are all proud of you! Or, as Logan Roy once put it on Succession: ‘Son, magnificent effort.’”

Since May 2023, Sean Spicer has been a political contributor at NewsNation. He also co-hosts the podcast The Morning Meeting alongside Mark Halperin and Dan Turrentine. In April 2025, Spicer returned to the White House as a “new media” reporter and influencer.

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More about Tom Bergeron’s latest remarks on his DWTS exit and return

Besides Parade, Tom Bergeron also sat down with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of his return to Dancing With the Stars on Tuesday. He said he was “thrilled” to be back; however, if the “previous regime was still in charge,” he wouldn’t have considered returning.

Bergeron mentioned that the show’s original producer, Conrad Green, who returned in the 33rd season, extended an olive branch to him. He added how being fired from DWTS five years ago “pissed me off.” He also mentioned having a strenuous relationship with the showrunner at the time and being “lied to” by him.

“I couldn’t be happier that the people who are running the show now are running the show. But to be honest, the 20th anniversary, in other people’s hands, would not have lured me back,” Tom Bergeron stated.

The comedian also dismissed speculations that his political viewpoints led to his removal. He clarified that in 2019, when the Sean Spicer controversy surfaced, he was careful not to name him or any political party in his statement.

“That wasn’t the issue. I even said to Sean, ‘If they had cast Hillary Clinton — I voted for her, I don’t want her on the show. We’re on the cusp of an election year in 2019.’ It was the wrong move, and after having been assured they wouldn’t do something like that, for them to turn around and do it. That was just the last straw,” Bergeron explained.

When asked if he still thinks the show should remain apolitical, Tom Bergeron replied in the affirmative.

In 2021, he appeared on the Here For You podcast and claimed his final season was unpleasant, and the show that he left was not the same one he loved.

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Tyra Banks replaced Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews as the host of Dancing With the Stars in 2020, before Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough took over in 2023.