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Tom Bergeron Shares Details of His DWTS “Betrayal”
Tom Bergeron is taking a quickstep back into the ballroom.
Five years after his Dancing With the Stars firing, the former host is returning to the competition as a guest judge for the 20th anniversary episode Nov. 11.
"It feels really good," he told Good Morning America Nov. 5. "I’m really looking forward to it."
Bergeron—who hosted Dancing With the Stars from its 2005 debut through its 28th season in 2019—credited OG and current showrunner Conrad Green for convincing him to waltz back onto the stage.
"He really kind of extended the olive branch and got me reminiscing about all the fond memories," the 70-year-old continued. "So yeah, I’m looking forward to getting back."
However, there was a time when Bergeron didn’t think he’d ever give the show another spin.
"No, never," he told former pro Cherly Burke on a 2023 episode of her podcast Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans. "Because it’s not the same show. It’s not the same world. I did it for a lot of years. There’s no point. What would I prove?"
It was in July 2020 that ABC and BBC Studios announced that Bergeron and his cohost for six years Erin Andrews were leaving Dancing With the Stars.
"Tom Bergeron will forever be part of the Dancing with the Stars family,” the networks said in a statement to Variety at the time. "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."
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Then-showrunner Andrew Llinares—who worked on Dancing With the Stars from 2018 to 2022—defended the decision to part ways with Bergeron and Andrews and praised their replacement Tyra Banks, who hosted three seasons from 2020 to 2022.
"Any show like this that has been on for many, many seasons needs to continue to evolve," he told reporters during an ABC press day that October, per Entertainment Tonight. "So I think changing that host is all about evolution. It was all about making the show feel fresh, making it feel new and make it reach out to a new audience—as well as the audience that’s been there for years."
However, Bergeron has suggested that he and some higher-ups were out of sync in terms of their visions for the show.
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As he tells it, he met with both a showrunner and the showrunner’s boss—neither of whom he names—in the summer of 2019 and was asked for his opinion on the series. Considering this was right before the 2020 presidential election, Bergeron advised that they stay away from politics.
"'Don’t go there,'" he recounts telling them while on Burke's podcast. "'Just make us the wonderful escape from all that divisiveness for two hours a week.'"
Bergeron said the showrunner and boss voiced their agreement. So when he saw that President Donald Trump's former Press Secretary Sean Spicer was cast as a competitor for season 28, he felt like he had been misled. As a result, he spoke out about his behind-the-scenes conversations with the showrunner and boss on Twitter—though he points out he didn’t name any names or political parties.
"At that moment, I knew this is probably my last season because of that one betrayal—that I’d been lied to by the people who were in charge," he added on the podcast. "I was furious."
Despite his thoughts on the matter, Bergeron noted he and Andrews remained "very professional" during Spicer’s time on the show. And he made it clear he didn’t think any political figure from any party should join the series.
"Whether it was somebody I voted for or didn’t," he said on a 2021 episode of the late Bob Saget’s podcast Bob Saget’s Here for You, "I didn’t think a political person was an appropriate booking for the show."
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Ultimately, Bergeron continued, "the show that I left was not the show that I loved." And while he wouldn’t necessarily give his exit from Dancing With the Stars a 10, he still encouraged people to watch the ballroom competition.
"They're entitled to do the show the way they think is best," he shared. "I look back at the time I spent there with really great fondness for the vast majority of it. And also there are people there on the show performing that I still care about, and I want them to have long careers. I want people to still watch it and support them and understand that, sure, it's different, but there's still very talented people who were going to be on your screens in the fall."
Now, Bergeron can’t wait to cha-cha over to the show to join judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough as well as hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough .
"I’m honestly thrilled to be going back," he shared on GMA. "I think for anyone who has watched any part of the past 20 years, it’s going to be a lovely reunion and I’m going back to being in a room full of friends.”
Until next week’s episode, keep reading for more Dancing With the Stars secrets.
ABC/Paula Lobo
How Much Do the Celebrities Get Paid to Be on Dancing With the Stars?
Citing multiple sources, Variety reported in 2019 that Dancing With the Stars contestants make $125,000 for the rehearsal period and first two weeks of the show. If they progress beyond that point, the outlet continued, they earn more money each week. At the time, sources told the publication stars could earn a maximum of $295,000.
However, Bobby Bones said he made more than this when he won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018.
"That show pays OK," the radio personality said on a Sept. 2025 episode of Jason Tartick's podcast Trading Secrets. "Like, first episode, no money. Second episode, $10,000. I think it's like, $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000. It ends up being $50,000 an episode if you last."
Also receiving a base salary of around $110,000, Bones continued, "I ended up making close to $400,000 from that show."
ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.
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What Do the Pros Get Paid on Dancing With the Stars?
Similarly, little has been shared publicly about how much the pros get paid. But as with the contestants, it seems like the longer they're on the show, the more money they can make.
But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they're not leaving the ballroom empty-handed.
"You're guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks," Jenna Johnson said on a June 2025 episode of Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester's podcast The Morning After. "I think there's different contracts though. I can't speak for everybody."
Disney/Eric McCandless
Do Pros Get Paid More If They Win Dancing With the Stars?
Apparently not.
While Johnson—who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, as well as season 33 with The Bachelor's Joey Graziadei—says the pros don't get a larger paycheck if they take home what is now called the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, she noted there's still an incentive to make it to the finale (besides bragging rights, of course).
"If you make it all the way to the end, you're getting paid the whole season, which is amazing, and you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale," she explained on The Morning After. "If you win, it's not like you win a $1 million and split it with your partner. You're just getting a cute trophy together."
Instagram / Dancing With the Stars
Do the Troupe Members Get Paid as Much as the Pros on Dancing With the Stars?
That doesn't appear to be the case.
On a 2022 episode of Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold recalled how her salary was cut "more than in half" when she was demoted from pro to troupe member.
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How Are Pros and Celebrities Paired Together on Dancing With the Stars?
The pros get little input when it comes to being matched with a celebrity.
"You get no say," Lindsay said on a May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers' Hot Smart Rich podcast. "It's very much just, 'Here's your partner. Make it work.'"
In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute.
"They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live," Jenna said on The Morning After. "They want that genuine reaction. So I think people always think we know who we have and we're keeping it a secret. Absolutely not. They do not tell us. They really don't even want us to know the cast. It gets leaked a lot, but they want it very hush-hush until you walk in and meet your partner."
As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches?
"It's based on height, build and personality and compatibility," former showrunner Rob Wade told E! News in 2015. "We don't pair people who aren't going to get on. It's too intense. It's not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn't do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don't want to see two people who don't like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn't get on so well."
Disney/Eric McCandless
How Often Do the Pros and Celebrities Practice on Dancing With the Stars?
Put simply, a lot.
"Every day we have four-hour rehearsals," Rylee Arnold, who was partnered with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik on season 33, shared on a September 2024 episode of the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis. "It’s either 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m."
But the work doesn't stop once the rehearsal wraps. Rylee noted she might then meet with producers or the creative team, work on choreography or study dance videos.
"Literally my whole life is devoted to it," she continued, "but it's my passion and it's what I love. So, it makes me so happy."
Indeed, it's a no-days-off kind of gig.
"We have our show day on Tuesday and then it's Wednesday to Sunday, straight rehearsals," Rylee added. "And then Monday we have camera blocking and then Tuesday's show day again."
Instagram / Emma Slater
Do the Pros Get to Pick the Songs Each Week for Their Dance With Their Celebrity Partner?
"Mostly yes," Emma Slater and Britt Stewart revealed in a September 2025 Instagram video, "though it's a collaboration with producers."
Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images
What's the Process Like for Making the Costumes for Dancing With the Stars?
If you thought the quickstep was fast, just wait until you hear about the pace of the costume department.
"We meet with the set and lighting designers, dancers and talent and create a story [for each pair]," costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner told TV Insider back in 2017. "Then we sketch out ideas. We have five days, max, to make all the outfits. That’s half a day per costume, not including all the rhinestones. The fitting and trimming we do later. We have about 20 people in our department and then we have a separate tailor shop. It’s a big enterprise."
In fact, costume designer Steven Norman Lee said pairs usually try on their costumes for the first time just hours before showtime. And while the department "might use a pair of pants again for the boys," he continued, everything is generally made custom each week.
As Gschwendtner added, "We do reuse things for group numbers or promo shoots, but not for the competition. We don’t reuse things unless there’s a specific reason to do so. We try to keep everybody fresh and new in something different every week, so it stays interesting."
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