Alfonso Ribeiro, a previous champion of “Dancing With The Stars” just blasted the reality television show for firing host Tom Bergeron, who had been with the program since it premiered in 2005.

Fans were stunned last week when it was announced that both Bergeron and his cohost Erin Andrews had been fired from the show and replaced by supermodel Tyra Banks. Ribeiro made no secret of the fact that he was not a fan of the decision.

“I’ve texted back and forth with Tom. I would’ve never made that decision, obviously. I think Tom and Erin are the backbone of the show,” Ribeiro, 48, told Us Weekly. “I have no idea where they’re going to go and what changes they want to make and why and how these decisions were made. But I think people like myself will absolutely miss Tom and Erin. It’ll be hard for me to see the show in whatever new form it is.”

The former “Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air” star went on to say that while he’s happy for Banks at scoring the hosting gig, he still does not see the decision as a smart one.

“Sometimes I look at things and I say, ‘Why don’t we just make a new show?’” he explained. “And then just make that show and then cancel the one that you’re chopping up. Right? We love Tom, and Tom to me is the best host on television. … I definitely wish Tyra [Banks] the best. I mean, Tyra got kind of her start in acting on ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.’ And I went to grade school with Tyra. So I’m hoping that she does a great job. But it’s hard. It’s going to be hard for me to watch it without Tom in there.”

Ribeiro was then asked if he would hav e considered taking the hosting job on “Dancing With The Stars,” given the fact that he had already replaced Bergeron as host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

“If the circumstances were very different, that might’ve been something that I might’ve been interested in doing,” he said. “I certainly would not have been interested in Tom being fired and me being hired to do it. I mean, I already took over for him on [America’s Funniest Home Videos]. I can’t do all of his gigs. And at the end of the day, the ‘AFV’ [exit] was not a firing. It was him leaving, and that’s what made it possible for me to go. I never want to take someone’s job like that. Yes. That has nothing to do [with] whoever you’re hiring of course, but because I’m so close to him, it just wouldn’t have felt right to do if they approached me.”

Fans were in shock when Bergeron revealed on July 13 that he had abruptly been fired.

“Just informed @DancingABC will be continuing without me,” he tweeted. “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?”

https://twitter.com/Tom_Bergeron/status/1282815740731510784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1282815740731510784%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fentertainment%2Fdancing-with-the-stars-alfonso-ribeiro-tom-bergeron-erin-andrews-exit

His management team confirmed his firing in a statement to Fox News that read, “ABC opted not to pick up Tom’s option. In the fine tradition of Hollywood cliches, they’re ‘Going in a different direction.'”

This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com and is used by permission.

Read more at UpliftingToday.com:
Tom Bergeron Breaks His Silence After Tyra Banks Is Given His Job On ‘Dancing With The Stars’
Ghislaine Maxwell Reportedly ‘Has Tapes Of Two Prominent U.S. Politicians Having Sex With Minors’
‘Dancing With The Stars’ Fires Tom Bergeron – Reveals His Replacement

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