'DWTS' Pro Cheryl Burke Insists She's Not Beefing With Tyra Banks
By MLC on September 8, 2022 at 3:00 AM EDT
Cheryl Burke is clearing the air.
The former “Dancing with the Stars” dance pro is sounding off on comments that she made about “surviving” the show.
Burke was joined by former ‘DWTS’ show host, Tom Bergeron, on her recent episode of her podcast, “Burke In The Game.”
Cheryl Clarifies Comments About "Newbies Surviving" 'DWTS'
Season 31 of the competition dance show is set to premiere on Disney+ on September 19th.
TikTok sensation, Charli D’Amelio, and her mother, Heidi D’Amelio, were the first contestants announced for the upcoming season.
Heidi and Charli will make ‘DWTS’ history this season as they are the first family members to compete against each other on the show.
Previously, JoJo Siwa made history on the show for being part of the first same-sex couple.
But, let’s get back to the rumored beef between Tyra Banks and Burke.
Did Burke Shade Tyra Banks???
During her podcast episode, Burke expressed how much she missed Bergeron as a host of the show.
Many people took this as a dig at Banks given how far ratings have fallen since she took over as the show’s main host.
“I respect her very much,” Burke insisted. “I want to be clear that when I say I would love Tom Bergeron to come back on the show, that doesn’t entail necessarily that Tyra has to be fired or I don’t want Tyra there.”
She also clarified her August comments about “newbies surviving” the show were not aimed or directed at the former super model.
Burke Says She Was Not Talking About Banks Solely
Burke said they were “taken out of context.”
“[When] I was mentioning newbies, it wasn’t just Tyra,” she said. “I was mentioning any new dancer, any new producer, any new hair and makeup person that decides to join ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ They will have probably challenges along the way. I didn’t mean if Tyra, [specifically], will survive.”
Bergeron and Erin Andrews were unexpectedly fired from the competition show in 2020.
Banks took over BOTH of their positions. This season, Banks will be joined by 'DWTS' winner Alfonso Ribeiro.
In July 2020, ABC announced that Bergeron and Andrews would no longer be a part of the show, as the series would be heading in a fresh creative direction.
Tom Bergeron & Erin Andrews Fired So Tyra Banks Could Host
ABC & BBC Studios applauded them for their time on the show but fired them anyway.
Bergeron hosted the dance program since its 2005 debut while Andrews joined him in 2014 for season 18.
As reported by PEOPLE, Bergeron spoke about being kicked off ‘DWTS’ during an interview on the late Bob Saget’s podcast, “Bob Saget’s Here for You.”
The TV personality told the Saget, “In all candor, the show that I left was not the show that I loved.”
At the end of the season that turned out to be his last, Bergeron was already prepared.
The actor took everything out of his dressing room that he wanted, as it was clear that he and the executives were not seeing eye to eye off-camera.
Bergeron said it was not a pleasant experience, but he was unsurprised, and there was no blue period surrounding his firing.
“I think Erin and I had more fun being fired than virtually anybody,” the comedian said. He added that he had a largely positive experience hosting the ABC show.
The star said that the producers were entitled to “do the show the way they think is best,” and he looked back at a vast majority of his time there with really great fondness.
Speaking of producers, Tom sent a very subtle yet poignant message to one of them on Twitter.
On March 17, it was announced that the executive producer of ‘DWTS,’ Andrew Llinares was “out” as EP of the hit dance show.
Bergeron responded with a tweet that read, “Karma’s a b***h.” He signed off with a winking smiley face.
