Tom Bergeron Apologizes to Bobby Bones for Comments on DWTS Win

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Tom Bergeron is walking back a misstep. 

After Tom Bergeron, the former host of Dancing With the Stars, publicly called Bobby Bones’ 2018 win the most surprising in the show’s history—telling Parade magazine he was taken aback—Bobby Bones (whose real name is Bobby Estell) said he was hurt by the comment and considered giving back his trophy.

In response, Tom directly addressed the former contestant with a message of regret.

Tom apologized to Bobby in an Instagram post on November 13th, jokingly suggesting he should have just stayed silent, referencing his mime training.

Along with his comment, the former star of America’s Funniest Home Videos shared a picture of a handwritten note he sent to the host of The Bobby Bones Show.

Tom messaged Bobby, saying he didn’t mean to upset him. He explained that his comment about being hurt was simply his honest reaction to the voting results, and he thought it highlighted the need to look at how judges’ and viewers’ votes are weighted.

The 70-year-old, who left Dancing with the Stars in 2019 after hosting for almost 20 years, explained his reaction to Bobby’s win was mainly based on what he thought the viewers were feeling. He also said he felt bad for his dance partner, Sharna Burgess.

You know, looking back, I really feel awful about the trouble that win caused for you and Sharna. I truly regret anything I did that made things harder or reopened old hurts. It wasn’t my intention, and I wish I’d handled things differently.

Tom admitted he was upset with himself for the mistake, explaining in a message attached to the screenshot that he’d been doing a lot of interviews before the 20th and was likely to misspeak at some point.

Almost immediately after the interview was published, Bobby strongly criticized Tom’s statements and revealed he had returned his Mirrorball trophy. He had won the competition over finalists Milo Manheim and Witney Carson.

In a recent Instagram post from November 12th, Bobby explained that despite his positive attitude and hard work over the past six years, he continues to face unexpected negativity related to the show. As a result, he returned his trophy, stating it’s clear the show doesn’t want him involved.

Even recently, Milo shared that he still feels unfairly treated due to his experience on the show—though ABC has updated its scoring system since then—he doesn’t hold any ill will towards the winner. He actually feels finishing second was a positive result.

He said on The Zack Sang Show in July that people often tell him he ruined Dancing with the Stars. Surprisingly, he feels like not winning actually led to this attention, and he appreciates it.

For more Dancing With the Stars feuds, keep reading…

A disagreement broke out after a judge said she was being harassed online by supporters of a former contestant from The Bachelorette.

It’s honestly shocking, but I still experience bullying, and it seems to flare up around this time of year. Carrie Ann Inaba shared on The Talk that she gets targeted because of her honest opinions – she judges, and people come after her for it. It’s just so disheartening to hear that this still happens, even to adults!

During Kaitlyn and her partner Artem Chigvintsev’s jive routine, judge Carrie Ann pointed out that they illegally performed a lift.

I’m not sure how to score this,” she said to Kaitlyn. “What you just did, I’m counting as a lift.” As a result, she lowered their score.

Following her performance, Kaitlyn told Entertainment Tonight she was surprised by Carrie Ann’s critique. She wondered if the judge’s comments were meant to be constructive, or if they stemmed from past experiences with other contestants from The Bachelor franchise, like Hannah Brown. Kaitlyn explained she needed to understand the motivation behind the feedback to improve and figure out how to apply it to their next practice session.

Artem felt Carrie Ann’s criticisms were aimed at him personally, and he doubted he could ever satisfy her.

It was obvious the actress from The O.C. wasn’t happy during her brief time on season 22, and viewers quickly picked up on the awkwardness between her and her professional dance partner.

I didn’t realize how difficult it would be,” she explained to The Ringer. “One of the dancers actually scolded me. I was led to believe I’d be in charge of the costumes and even have some creative input with the designs – that’s why I took the job. But that didn’t end up being the case at all.”

Cheryl shared that the former Beverly Hills, 90210 star, who competed with her in season four, was the celebrity she least enjoyed partnering with.

She admitted on the “Allegedly” podcast that Ian Ziering would be her least favorite dance partner. She explained that she’s bothered by how his name is pronounced – “EYE-AN” instead of “EE-AN,” and it really irritates her.

I was desperately pleading with the company leaders, even crying, asking if there was any way to just end our team. They kept saying it wasn’t possible, and honestly, every time I brought it up, they just brushed it off. They insisted we’d continue until the very end.

During season 23, a contestant revealed on her podcast that a judge made her feel self-conscious about her body, specifically mentioning the judge seemed uncomfortable with her hips, breasts, and backside.

Julianne and the other person discussed the situation on a recent show after Julianne apologized and explained what she meant. She told TopMob News that her comment about feeling “uncomfortable” wasn’t about the dancer’s body, but about wanting to see more energy in the performance. She emphasized that a confident, energetic performance is key, and she fully supports and enjoys seeing confident, sexy dancing. She also made it clear she’s against body shaming of any kind.

Amber apologized, explaining that she felt embarrassed when she heard someone say they felt a little uncomfortable. She initially thought the discomfort wasn’t related to her dancing, but she apologized if she misinterpreted the situation.

Maks and his partner became close friends during season 12 and again on the All-Star season, but Maks later said their friendship suffered because of Scientology.

He explained on Watch What Happens Live in 2014 that she stopped speaking to him. They had been close, but she apparently didn’t approve of his new friendships. He said she told him she wouldn’t communicate with him anymore because of who he was associating with, and while he respects her, he feels it’s her decision. He added that he thinks highly of her and doesn’t judge others based on their beliefs, noting he himself is Jewish and doesn’t believe in science fiction, but accepts everyone’s choices.

In response, Kirstie wrote that her former partner has “ass raped” her with the comments. 

The well-known athlete and her dance partner had a difficult relationship during season 13 of the show. In her autobiography, she claimed he physically assaulted her during practice. She also revealed that the network offered to switch her to a different partner, but she refused, not wanting to jeopardize his career.

Maks refuted Hope’s accusations and responded in a 2015 podcast, calling her a “terrible person.” He explained that while people can have difficult pasts or challenging upbringings, those things don’t excuse fundamentally bad behavior. He stated there’s no justification for simply being a bad person.

The reality star and her dance partner struggled during season 10, and Tony later revealed they both needed therapy afterward. He even admitted to shouting “I quit!” during one practice session.

Responding to Tony’s feedback, the mother of eight expressed her disappointment that he only remembered the negative aspects of their time working together, considering all the effort and time they’d all put into the competition.

The judge faced backlash after telling a contestant she wouldn’t win a Nobel Prize in physics, but complimented her appearance instead.

Charlotte was upset with Bruno’s remarks, telling TopMob News that they were completely unnecessary. She pointed out that it felt especially inappropriate given their recent focus on kindness and anti-bullying efforts, and that the conversation hadn’t even been about intelligence or ability. She simply felt his comments were out of line.

After winning season seven of the show, Brooke co-hosted with Tom Bergeron for several years. She was surprised and disappointed to learn she wouldn’t be returning for season eighteen, as Erin Andrews was brought in as her replacement.

As a longtime fan, I was definitely sad to hear that she’s leaving DWTS after seven seasons! She explained that she understands the show needs to evolve, and honestly, that makes sense. She’s always been so positive and adaptable, and she’s excited to finally explore other opportunities now that her contract is up. She’s witnessed a lot of surprising moments on the show, but she said this news – her departure – is the most shocking one yet!

During season 18, the Dance Moms star appeared as a guest judge, and professional dancer Maks Chmerkovskiy didn’t appreciate her feedback. He told Erin Andrews that he disagreed with her critique of his performance with Meryl Davis, stating he didn’t value her opinion.

Abby strongly criticized Maks’ remark, calling it “disrespectful.” In an interview with TopMob News, she explained that while she wasn’t personally bothered by it, she felt it showed a lack of respect towards ABC, Dancing With the Stars, and one of the judges.

CLICK: Did you know these DWTS hook-ups happened?

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2025-11-13 20:48