“Sometimes I should fall back on my mime training,” Bergeron quipped.

Tom Bergeron apologizes to Bobby Bones after DWTS winner returned his Mirrorball trophy over former host’s criticism

"Sometimes I should fall back on my mime training," Bergeron quipped.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

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November 13, 2025 11:34 a.m. ET

Tom Bergeron; Bobby Bones. Credit:

JC Olivera/Getty; Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Tom Bergeron has apologized to Bobby Bones after the *Dancing With the Stars* champ said he returned his Mirrorball trophy following the former host's "hurtful" comments about his win.

On Wednesday, Bergeron, the original host of ABC's long-running competition series, posted on Instagram a screenshot of a direct message he sent to Bones expressing regret over the remarks he recently made. "Bobby, it wasn't my intention to hurt your feelings. My 'ouch' was based on my honest feeling that your win spoke to a need to address the balance between judge and viewer voting," the apology read. **

Alfonso Ribeiro, Tom Bergeron, and Julianne Hough on Dancing With the Stars'.

Disney/Eric McCandless

Bergeron continued, "I always felt bad that you & Sharna [Burgess] had to deal with the aftermath of that win & I certainly regret pouring any salt into that old wound."

In the caption of the post Bergeron shared, the former host added, "Sorry, Bobby. Sometimes I should fall back on my mime training 🤐"

The comments in question came from an interview Bergeron did with Parade that published on Tuesday. When asked what elimination stunned him the most during his tenure on the ABC series, Bergeron replied, "You know, it's funny, you're asking about eliminations. The thing that shocked me most was a win," before naming Bones' season 27 triumph in 2018.

"It's like Andy Richter this season," Bergeron told the outlet. "He's charming and has such a big heart. Do I think he's going to win? No. Do I think he's bringing a quality to the show that epitomizes what the show is? Absolutely. But Bobby Bones was the first time it was like, 'Ouch.' No disrespect to Bobby. He would probably say the same thing."

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Bones' win was notoriously controversial as the radio personality was consistently around the bottom of the leaderboard and had the lowest combined score of the final four couples. But his loyal fan base proved above caring that Bones was clearly outmatched by the rest of the cast in the dancing element of the show, and their votes lifted him to victory over more proficient and higher-scoring dancers, such as Milo Manheim, who finished second, and Evanna Lynch, who placed third.

Bobby Bones winning season 27 of 'Dancing with the Stars' in 2018.

Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Bones has always been aware of the backlash to his win, which he made clear in his TikTok post on Wednesday, in which he said he had returned his Mirrorball trophy.

"I try not to get my feelings hurt, especially about stuff like this, but this was hurtful," Bones said of Bergeron's comments in his lengthy video, adding that it wasn't "because of what was said, but really who said it" because he respects Bergeron.

Bones asked his followers what he was supposed to do in his situation, noting that he "didn't even wanna be on the show."

"I had no intention of being on *Dancing With the Stars*. I was working on a different show at the network. They asked me to go on the show to promote," he added. "Am I supposed to not show up and work hard?"

Tom Bergeron returning to 'DWTS' for the first time since his surprise 2020 firing

Julianne Hough tears up reintroducing Tom Bergeron to 'DWTS' ballroom 5 years after dramatic exit

Bones called the "amount of hate" he still gets "crazy," questioning what he did to deserve the vitriol after seven years. "I had a great attitude. I worked hard, and here we are, like six years later, I'm still catching strays out of nowhere," he lamented. "So I sent the trophy back. They don't want me to be a part of the show, obviously. So I don't wanna be somewhere that doesn't want me to be there."

He emphasized that he "sent the trophy back to ABC" and that he "no longer" has the Mirrorball trophy with him.

Bones went on to say that despite the fact that he "loved" his time on the show, he's not a fan of "people I respect people like Tom Bergeron there and Julianne Hough," the current cohost, and others "taking random shots" at him because they have essentially "taken all the joy away from my time on that show."

Bones ended his video telling his followers to "go where you're celebrated, not where you're tolerated."

Bergeron made his grand return to the ballroom on Tuesday, five years after his shocking firing to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show's debut on ABC. The celebratory episode also saw the elimination of Richter, who was shaping up to be the Bobby Bones of season 34.

"I've said it a bunch, it has has changed my life. I am a different person because of this show and this woman right here," Richter said following his elimination, referencing his partner Emma Slater. "None of this would have happened without her. She knew how to use me, we created a thing together, and it was just TikToks and dancing. It exploded, it's crazy, and I certainly feel like a winner so I'm not worried."

*Dancing With the Stars* airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+, and streams the next day on Hulu.**

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