Tom Bergeron just got brutally honest about his depature from Dancing with the Stars.
Appearing late last week on the podcast Bob Saget's Here for You, the former host delved into his 2019 firing from the ABC reality show and basically addressed producers as follows:
See ya! Wouldn't wanna be ya!
"In all candor, the show that I left was not the show that I loved," Bergeron said plainly during this revealing interview.
"So, the end of the season that turned out to be my last season, I kind of knew.
"So I took everything out of my dressing room that I really wanted ... It was kind of obvious that we were kind of butting heads."
This should not come as a stunning confession to anyone who has been watching and/or paying attention to Dancing with the Stars over the years.
Bergeron was openly critical of the program on a number of occasions prior to getting relieved of his duties two years ago.
Most notably, he made it clear that he was against the show bringing former Donald Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer on as a contestant.
"My hope [was] that DWTS, in its return following an unprecedented year-long hiatus, would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations," Bergeron said back then.
He added that even though he left the meeting believing the two parties were in agreement, "a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood, 'go in a different direction.'"
"It is the prerogative of the producers, in partnership with the network, to make whatever decisions they feel are in the best long term interests of the franchise," Bergeron added at the time.
"We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it's their call."
Spicer, of course, was considered a gigantic liar back when he worked for President Trump.
Some might say he contributed to a toxic political environment and helped his former boss mislead American citizens about both his policies and his intentions; hence why Bergeron didn't want Spicer to go Dancing.
"I wasn't surprised that was my last season," he added a few days ago to Saget, continuing of himself and Erin Andrews, who was also let go at the time:
"So there was no blue period. Actually, I think Erin and I had more fun getting fired than anyone."
Tweeted Bergeron after the news of his firing broke:
“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. That said, now what am I supposed to do with all of these glitter masks?"
In a chat with author and talk show host Vicki Abelson in April 2018, Bergeron also touched on his changing relationship with the show's producers and how it had begun long before his exit:
"The show had changed a lot for me starting in early 2008.
"We had very clear, sometimes public, differences of opinion about the new showrunner and some of the execs and happily, I was at a point in my life and career where I didn't have to just shut up and take it.
"I decided to go public with some concerns I had at that time and I think that set the stage for it. I kind of saw it coming."
As for what Tom's future hold?
He won't be returning to Dancing with the Stars.
"It's pretty far in the rearview mirror for me. I'm on to other stuff," Bergeron told Saget.
"You know what nobody needs to hear? A whiny millionaire … It’s so self-absorbed. I mean, look. I had great fortune.
"I mean, I had two network shows running simultaneously for the better part of a decade and a half.