A new podcast interview exposes a stunning behind-the-scenes power play at Dancing With the Stars in 2019, revealing that champion Bobby Bones was ABC’s first choice to replace legendary host Tom Bergeron—before a contractual clause and network weaseling derailed the plan, leading to a decade-old apology and a returned Mirrorball trophy.
The story of Dancing With the Stars‘ 2019 host transition just took a dramatic turn. Longtime fans know that Tom Bergeron exited the ballroom after 14 seasons, eventually making way for Tyra Banks before the current team of Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough took over. But a candid conversation on radio host Bobby Bones‘ The BobbyCast reveals the path almost looked very different, with Bones—the charismatic country radio personality who won the show in 2018—as ABC’s initial target to fill Bergeron’s empty chair.
This revelation isn’t just gossip; it’s a masterclass in how network television decisions can hinge on volatile factors like contracts, ego, and perceived “fit.” To understand why this matters, you must first remember the seismic shift Bergeron’s departure caused. He was the show’s steady, witty constant since its premiere. His leaving signaled the end of an era, and the scramble to replace him defined the show’s next turbulent phase [Entertainment Weekly].
Blocked By a Contract: The “Weasels” At The Network
The pivotal moment came when Bones revealed the specifics. As Bergeron recounted on the podcast, the conversation started bluntly: “Before they went to Tyra Banks to replace me, they went to you, right?” Bones confirmed it, but with a critical caveat. He was operating under a major assumption: “I was told you were leaving.”
This is where the story crystallizes into a classic Hollywood power struggle. Bones, respecting Bergeron immensely, wanted to do right by him. “I was like, ‘Hey, can I talk to Tom and get advice on this decision?'” he said. That request was met with a cold, contractual shutdown. According to Bones, the network’s response was a telling: “Contractually, we don’t think you should do that.”
Credit: ABC/Eric McCandless; Allen Berezovsky/Getty
Bergeron’s visceral reaction—”They are such weasels sometimes, aren’t they?”—captures the frustration of being sidelined by insider deals. The implication is stark: the network may have used Bergeron’s own contract or exit negotiations as a tool to control the succession, bypassing a graceful transition and opting for a clean break that left both men feeling manipulated. This isn’t just about hosting gigs; it’s about the machinery of television often prioritizing legal wrangling over human relationships and audience trust.
A Long-Awaited Apology: The “Shocking Win” That Hurt
The second layer of this drama involves a wound from 2018 that never fully healed. When Bones and his pro partner Sharna Burgess won season 27, Bergeron publicly admitted his surprise, telling Parade in 2025 that Bones’ victory was “the thing that shocked me most” among all DWTS results [Parade]. He contrasted Bones with another non-dancer, Andy Richter, saying while he didn’t expect Richter to win, his participation “epitomizes what the show is.” The subtext hurt: Bones’ win felt like an outlier, not a celebration of the show’s spirit.
Bones didn’t let it slide. He publicly called the comment “hurtful” and in a dramatic gesture, returned his hard-earned Mirrorball trophy. On the podcast, he explained his mindset: “I didn’t even want to be on the show… Am I supposed to not show up and work hard?” His frustration was twofold: the slight to his integrity as a competitor, and the feeling that his genuine effort was dismissed.
Bergeron, now facing the man he inadvertently bruised, offered a sincere mea culpa. He clarified the original question was about “shocking eliminations,” not wins, and regretted his phrasing. “I wish I had said, ‘Well, this wasn’t a shock, but it was a surprise when Bobby Bones won,'” he conceded. The apology was specific and focused on the impact, not the intent—a crucial distinction that speaks to Bergeron’s own growth and the lingering pain of network-produced narratives.
This apology matters because it highlights the real human cost behind reality TV’s edited storylines. A host’s offhand remark, likely made in the flow of an interview, reverberated for years, affecting a champion’s relationship with his own trophy. Their reconciliation on air doesn’t erase the past, but it publicly closes a loop that fans had debated for seasons.
Why This Matters Now: The Echoes In Today’s DWTS
Understanding this 2019-2020 rift deepens how we view the show’s current iteration. The period between Bergeron and Banks was unstable, marked by a host who (Bones) was never given a formal chance and a winner whose victory was framed as an anomaly. This instability contributed to a ratings and cultural turbulence that the Ribeiro/Hough era has worked hard to stabilize.
For superfans, this is definitive canon. It confirms long-standing rumors about Bones’ potential hosting and provides the “why” behind Bergeron’s specific 2025 comment about the win. It frames the Bones win not as a fluke, but as an event that sat uncomfortably within the show’s established hierarchy—a hierarchy that the network itself seemed eager to control by blocking Bones’ subsequent career move within the franchise.
Furthermore, it paints a picture of ABC‘s fraught relationship with its own legacy. The desire to “freshen” the brand after Bergeron’s departure led to a missed opportunity (Bones) and a misstep (the public surprise at a winner). The network’s apparent use of contractual language to prevent Bones from consulting Bergeron shows a preference for controlled, disjointed transitions over collaborative ones, often at the expense of goodwill.
The most recent champion, Robert Irwin, won in December 2025, continuing the show’s tradition of charismatic winners. But the Bones victory remains a frequently cited talking point in fan forums about “unexpected” outcomes [Entertainment Weekly]. Knowing the behind-the-scenes tension adds a layer of poignancy to that win; it happened during a period of executive indecision that may have undervalued the very contestant they later tried to recruit as host.
This story is a textbook case of how entertainment news operates: a celebrity interview (the podcast) excavates a past event (the 2019 hosting consideration), re-contextualizes a prior controversy (the “shocking win” comment), and forces a public reckoning (the apology). For the audience, it transforms dry franchise history into juicy, interpersonal drama. It explains why certain fan theories persisted and provides closure on a debated moment.
The takeaway for dedicated viewers is profound. The Dancing With the Stars we see on screen—a glossy celebration of dance—is shaped by messy, contractual, and emotional decisions off-screen. The near-hosting of Bobby Bones was a fork in the road that could have altered the show’s tone for years. Instead, the path led to Tyra Banks and then a return to comedic hosting with Ribeiro. Whether that was the right call is a debate for fans, but this revelation confirms the “what if” was very real, very close, and blocked by the very network machinery that produces the show we love.
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