A graceful goodbye. Erin Andrews spoke out for the first time since Dancing With the Stars ousted her and her longtime cohost, Tom Bergeron.
“Thank you ABC and the entire Dancing With the Stars family for 6 memorable seasons,” the sportscaster, 42, said in a statement via Twitter on Tuesday, July 14. “Those years wouldn’t have been as special without my loving host Tom Bergeron, the talented dancers, and witty judges.”
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Andrews said she “will always cherish” her time on the set of the ABC dance competition — “even if I wasn’t the best at walking in heels.”
❤️😉 pic.twitter.com/4NwkqvAnuF
— Erin Andrews (@ErinAndrews) July 14, 2020
ABC and BBC Studios announced in a joint statement to Us Weekly on Monday, July 13, that Andrews and Bergeron, 65, would not be returning to DWTS for season 29.
“Tom Bergeron will forever be part of the Dancing With the Stars family. As we embark on a new creative direction, he departs the show with our sincerest thanks and gratitude for his trademark wit and charm that helped make this show a success,” the producers said in a statement. “Erin will also not be returning, and we appreciate all that she brought to the ballroom. Fans have been rooting for her since she originally competed as a contestant back in 2010, and her signature sense of humor has become a hallmark of the show.”
The former America’s Funniest Home Videos host also shared the news via Twitter, writing on Monday night, “Just informed @DancingABC will be continuing without me. It’s been an incredible 15 year run and the most unexpected gift of my career. I’m grateful for that and for the lifelong friendships made.”
He then joked, “Now what am I supposed to do with all of these glitter masks?”
Bergeron had hosted the series since its premiere in June 2005, while Andrews took on her role in March 2014 after finishing in third place as a competitor on season 10 with pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
The former Hollywood Squares host was openly critical of DWTS in recent years. Perhaps most notably, he tweeted in August 2019 that he disagreed with producers’ decision to cast President Donald Trump’s former White House press secretary Sean Spicer on the 28th and most recent season.