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Alfonso Ribeiro Hints ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Should Have Been Canceled Instead of Firing Hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews (Exclusive)

Alfonso Ribeiro Hints DWTS Should’ve Been Canceled Instead of Firing Hosts p
ABC

Can’t things just stay the same? Alfonso Ribeiro spoke out about Dancing With the Stars replacing hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews. Spoiler alert: The season 19 champion is not happy about the move.

Related: 'DWTS' Cast on Erin Andrews, Tom Bergeron's Exit

“I’ve texted back and forth with Tom. I would’ve never made that decision, obviously. I think Tom and Erin are the backbone of the show,” the actor, 48, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, July 22, while discussing his Bob Evans Farms partnership. “I have no idea where they’re going to go and what changes they want to make and why and how these decisions were made. But I think people like myself will absolutely miss Tom and Erin. It’ll be hard for me to see the show in whatever new form it is.”

Alfonso Ribeiro Hints DWTS Should’ve Been Canceled Instead of Firing Hosts 2
Alfonso Ribeiro John Salangsang/Shutterstock

Ribeiro then hinted that he would have rather seen the ABC series canceled than revamped. “Sometimes I look at things and I say, ‘Why don’t we just make a new show?’” he noted. “And then just make that show and then cancel the one that you’re chopping up. Right? We love Tom, and Tom to me is the best host on television. … I definitely wish Tyra [Banks] the best. I mean, Tyra got kind of her start in acting on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And I went to grade school with Tyra. So I’m hoping that she does a great job. But it’s hard. It’s going to be hard for me to watch it without Tom in there.”

Related: 'DWTS’ Winners Through the Years: Where Are They Now?

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum then revealed whether he would have considered taking over for Bergeron, 65, and Andrews, 42, if asked. “If the circumstances were very different, that might’ve been something that I might’ve been interested in doing,” he explained. “I certainly would not have been interested in Tom being fired and me being hired to do it. I mean, I already took over for him on [America’s Funniest Home Videos]. I can’t do all of his gigs. And at the end of the day, the AFV [exit] was not a firing. It was him leaving, and that’s what made it possible for me to go. I never want to take someone’s job like that. Yes. That has nothing to do [with] whoever you’re hiring of course, but because I’m so close to him, it just wouldn’t have felt right to do if they approached me.”

Alfonso Ribeiro Hints DWTS Should’ve Been Canceled Instead of Firing Hosts
Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews ABC/Kelsey McNeal

Ribeiro, who along with Jerry O’Connell has teamed up with Bob Evans Farms for the Love at First Bite campaign to create fun recipes with the brand’s dinner sides, reiterated that he “didn’t think the show needed to change” at all.

Related: Shocking Reality TV Exits

Bergeron announced on July 13 that he would not be returning for season 29 of Dancing With the Stars, while producers confirmed to Us at the time that Andrews would not reprise her role either. The duo were replaced by Banks, 46.

“It’s been an incredible 15 year run and the most unexpected gift of my career,” the Massachusetts native tweeted. “I’m grateful for that and for the lifelong friendships made.”

Andrews, for her part, reacted to the news the following day. “Thank you ABC and the entire Dancing With the Stars family for 6 memorable seasons,” she wrote on Twitter. “Those years wouldn’t have been as special without my loving host Tom Bergeron, the talented dancers, and witty judges. I will always cherish my days on that set, even if I wasn’t the best at walking in heels.”

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi

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