What you need to know
Bobby Bones has revealed that he no longer has the mirror ball trophy he won on Dancing with the Stars in 2018.
The 45-year-old podcast host revealed that he “sent the Mirrorball trophy back to ABC” following criticism of his win, referring to the “hurtful” comments former DWTS host Tom Bergeron made recently at the parade.
In a TikTok posted on Monday, November 12, Bones responded to Bergeron, 70, telling Parade that it was Bobby Bones’ elimination that “shocked” the TV host the most. “It was my first time with Bobby Bones, and it hurt,” Bergeron said.
“I try not to get my feelings hurt, especially over something like this, but this hurt,” Bones said in her response. He added: “It really depends on who said it, not what was said.”
Asking his followers what he should have done in his situation, Bones said, “I didn’t want to be on the show. I had no intention of being on Dancing with the Stars. I was working on another show at the network and they asked me to be on the show to promote it. Should I just stay off the show and work hard?”
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Bones called the “amount of hate” he still receives all these years later “insane” and said people he respects continue to bring up his time on the series, including Tom Bergeron and Julianne Hough, who also “strongly opposed” his win.
“Like, what did I do?” Bones wondered. “My attitude was great. I worked hard, and now, six years later, I’m still catching stray cats out of nowhere. So I sent the trophy back. They obviously don’t want me on the show, so I don’t want to be in a place where they don’t want me to be there.”
He then repeated, “That’s why I sent the trophy back to ABC. I don’t have the mirror ball trophy anymore.”
Bones said that while he “loved” his time on DWTS, he didn’t like how people like “Tom” and “Julian” would “randomly pull guns” on him and that it “sucked all the fun out of his time on the show.”
“This is crazy because it was such a great, fun time, even though I was the only one in the dancing crew who was also working a full-time job at the same time,” he said.
At the end of the video, Bones urged her followers to “go where you are celebrated, not where you are tolerated.”
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On Wednesday, Nov. 12, Bergeron apologized for his comments. He posted a screenshot of the DM he sent to Bones on his Instagram Story, expressing regret for what he said about Bones’ win in 2018.
Tom Bergeron/Instagram
“Bobby, it was never my intention to hurt your feelings. My ‘hurt’ was based on my honest feeling that your win speaks to the need to address the balance between jury and viewer votes,” the apology posted on Bergeron’s Instagram Story read.
Bergeron continued, “I always felt sorry that you and Sharna (Burgess) had to deal with the aftermath of that win, and I certainly regret pouring salt into that old wound.”
Dancing with the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET on ABC and Disney+.
