Alfonso Ribeiro’s Heart-To-Heart With Tom Bergeron Over ‘DWTS’

Alfonso Ribeiro from Instagram

Alfonso Ribeiro will share the stage with Tyra Banks this year as cohost of Dancing With The Stars. Many fans are excited that he’s joining the show, even though they really miss Tom Bergeron.

The DWTS exec team unexpectedly fired Tom Bergeron just ahead of Season 29 and replaced him with Tyra Banks. Many viewers found the move wildly unpopular.

So what exactly happened when Tom found out that Alfonso was going to fill his shoes? Apparently, they had a heart-to-heart over the situation. What was said?

Alfonso Ribeiro knew taking over after Tom Bergeron was a big responsibility

Tom Bergeron was very gracious when DWTS first announced they were moving on without him ahead of Season 29. But since then, the former host has come forward and said there was a lot of shadiness going on behind the scenes and he probably would never return, even if they asked him to. Too many changes and bad moves over the years made the hosting gig less fun as time went on.

But how does he feel now that Alfonso Ribeiro is going to be the newest host?

Alfonso Ribeiro from Jimmy Kimmel
Alfonso Ribeiro/Jimmy Kimmel

First of all, there wasn’t any funny business or backstabbing. Alfonso Ribeiro wanted to make that clear.

“We have talked. I wouldn’t say that he gave advice because [it would be] essentially the same advice he offered me when I was doing American’s Funniest Videos, which was ‘Be you,’” the 50-year-old actor told Us Weekly in a recent interview. “We have enough respect for each other that I wanted to talk to him as a friend. I wanted to let him know how it went down [with] all the love and respect that I have for Tom.”

Alfonso went on to say that he recognizes that Tom left behind some pretty big shoes to fill and he wants to do the former host justice. He said that Tom would always be “near and dear” to his heart.

Tom Bergeron from Instagram
Tom Bergeron/Instagram

The good news is that it doesn’t appear that there is any bad blood here. Fans hope it stays that way.

The Fresh Prince actor was thrilled to get the job offer

He has nothing but the utmost respect for Tom Bergeron, but Alfonso really jumped at the chance when the exec team offered him the job.

“I had no clue what was coming,” he told the publication. “All of a sudden, I’m on a road trip in my RV somewhere on the east coast and I get a phone call saying, ‘Hey, can you hop on a call tomorrow morning? We want to talk about you being one of our hosts.’ And I was [ready to say] ‘OK.’ There was no hesitation. It was a very simple yes.”

Follow TV Shows Ace online and stay up to date with the latest Dancing With The Stars news. The new season kicks off on Disney+ on September 19, so stay tuned. Check back and see what happens next.

Nikole Behrens
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