Tom Bergeron is setting the record straight on a remark he now wishes he’d phrased differently. The longtime Dancing With the Stars host publicly apologized to Bobby Bones after acknowledging he said “Ouch” when Bones was announced as the winner of the 2018 season — a reaction that reignited debate around the show’s polarizing voting system.
In a November 2025 Parade interview, Bergeron recalled his initial response to the finale outcome, which didn’t sit well with Bones. After the radio personality revealed he had returned his Mirrorball Trophy due to ongoing negativity surrounding his win, Bergeron took to Instagram to clarify his intent and own the misstep.
“Sorry, Bobby,” Bergeron wrote on November 13. “Sometimes I should fall back on my mime training.” He paired the post with a screenshot of a private message to Bones offering more context for the comment.
What Tom Bergeron Meant By His ‘Ouch’
Bergeron, who hosted DWTS for nearly two decades before exiting in 2019, emphasized that his reaction wasn’t aimed at Bones’ dancing or effort, but at how the fan-voting format played out during that season. “Bobby, it wasn’t my intention to hurt your feelings,” Bergeron wrote in the DM. “My ‘ouch’ was based on my honest feeling that your win spoke to a need to address the balance between judge and viewer voting.”
That balance — and how the finale unfolded — has been debated ever since Bones and pro partner Sharna Burgess lifted the Mirrorball. The pair faced a wave of backlash at the time, despite Bones’ steady popularity with viewers. Bergeron acknowledged that fallout in his message, adding, “I always felt bad that you and Sharna had to deal with the aftermath of that win. I certainly regret pouring any salt into that old wound.”
Bergeron also noted he’d been doing a marathon of interviews for the show’s milestone season and feared he might “say something inelegantly,” which he now admits he did. The apology was a clear attempt to pull his original remark out of the realm of personal critique and into a broader discussion about the show’s structure — specifically, how much weight the audience should carry in determining a winner versus the judges’ scores.
Bobby Bones Responds — And Sends Back The Mirrorball
Bones, who competed with a famously upbeat attitude and took pride in his improvement arc, shared his frustration in a November 12 Instagram post. He said that despite giving the competition everything he had, he’s “still catching strays” six years later — a feeling that ultimately prompted him to return his trophy.
“I had a great attitude,” he wrote. “I worked hard and here we are six years later… so I sent the trophy back. They don’t want me to be a part of the show, obviously.” It was a raw response that underlined how the discourse around his victory has outlasted the season itself.
While the show frequently celebrates personality, fan engagement, and growth alongside technical excellence, that very mix can lead to hotly debated results. Bergeron’s clarification recognizes that tension, spotlighting an ongoing push-and-pull at the heart of DWTS: should the series reward the most improved crowd-pleaser or the most technically polished dancer?
The Voting Debate & Calls To Restore A Results Show
Bergeron’s message also aligns with a larger conversation about transparency and balance in the finale. Over the years, the DWTS format has shifted, with the weight of viewer votes sometimes eclipsing judges’ scores in decisive ways. Bergeron has been vocal about wanting to shore up that balance and has advocated for bringing back a dedicated weekly results show — a place to unpack scores, reveal vote tallies, and offer clearer separation between performance night and eliminations.
For longtime viewers, a standalone results episode helped contextualize outcomes and gave the competition’s strategy a little breathing room. Bergeron’s “ouch” — framed as a reaction to the system, not the contestant — reflects the idea that a more transparent results window could help reduce backlash aimed at finalists while keeping the focus on the dance and the journey.
Milo Manheim’s High Road After A Controversial Finale
Milo Manheim, the 2018 runner-up who lost to Bones in one of the show’s most debated finales, has since chosen perspective over controversy. Earlier this year, he admitted he once felt “robbed,” but now sees silver linings in finishing second. “People come up all the time now, and they’re just like, ‘You killed Dancing with the Stars,’” he said on The Zack Sang Show. “And I don’t think I would be getting that validation had I won. So, it’s really nice.”
Manheim’s stance echoes Bergeron’s attempt to cool lingering tensions: where outcomes spark strong feelings, time — and clarity around the rules — can help reframe the narrative. Bones’ work ethic and connection with viewers were undeniable factors in his win; Manheim’s performance credentials and fan support kept the race tight. Both realities can be true, and the conversation around them continues to shape how DWTS calibrates its identity between entertainment and competition.
For Bergeron, the apology underscores a desire to move the discussion away from personalities and back onto process. For Bones, sending the trophy back was a powerful statement about how criticism can overshadow accomplishment long after confetti falls. And for DWTS, the moment is another reminder that the show’s enduring appeal depends on a fair, transparent framework — one that honors both the judges’ expertise and the audience’s passion without leaving its champions stuck in the crossfire.
