Bobby Bones Gets Honest About ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Backlash and Why He Gave His Trophy Back

“I felt like a sixth grader and all the ninth grade dancing kids are shoving me in lockers. It is crazy.”

Bobby Bones, Sharna Burgess; Photo by ABC

Bobby Bones took home the iconic Mirrorball Trophy after his Dancing With the Stars win back in 2018, but the criticism surrounding his big win never really stopped. In a new video, Bones opens up about still receiving backlash years later and gets honest about why he no longer has his trophy or feels welcome in the DWTS community.

New comments have emerged from the show’s former host Tom Bergeron that Bones admits were painful to hear.

“I try not to get my feelings hurt, especially about stuff like this, but this was hurtful and not because of what was said, but really who said it,” Bones shared in an Instagram post.
Bobby Bones, Sharna Burgess; Photo by ABC

The country radio personality then played a small clip of Bergeron’s interview with Parade, in which he revealed that the most shocking thing he witnessed during his time on the show was Bobby Bones’ win on Season 27. Bones explained that while Bergeron is someone who he admires from the show, his statement was disheartening.

The former DWTS host said, “It’s funny you’re asking about eliminations. The thing that shocked me most was a win…Bobby Bones was the first time I kind of, it was like, ouch.”

Bones clapped back saying, “What was I supposed to do on that show? I didn’t even want to 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. Am I supposed to not show up and work hard? Am I supposed to not give it freaking everything that I have? Am I supposed to throw it and not win? It’s crazy the amount of hate I get, even from people that I respect, like Tom Bergeron on there and Julianne Hough.”

As the dad-to-be pointed out, Bergeron isn’t the first person to express disappointment in his win on the ABC dance competition series. The controversy began over the fact that Bones and his pro dancer partner, Sharna Burgess, received low scores throughout the majority of the competition, but still managed to advance as a result of the overwhelming amount of votes he received from viewers at home. This prompted outrage in viewers and fellow competitors.

Former DWTS pro Julianne Hough also previously named Bobby Bones as a champion who’s win she “strongly disagreed” while appearing on a Watch What Happens Live. She stated that he won “because of the fanbase” and he “was not the best dancer.”

On top of the fact that he saw success on the show sheerly because of fans, Bobby Bones recently appeared on an episode of Jason Tartick’s “Trading Secrets” podcast, where he admitted that in a way, he “cheated” while on the show.

“They give you a limited amount of time with your partner, like four hours a day, they say,” he explained. “So, we would do our full work. I would record the session and then go by myself and rent a studio myself and train myself to, illegally, like spent time over.”

Back in 2018, he also told PEOPLE that he made every effort during his time on the show to do his best and unfortunately, he still received plenty of negative feedback throughout the season

“The people on the internet that loved that show were brutal to me,” he said at the time. “If people love dance, you didn’t love me on that show. If people love people going on and trying something new and putting their heart on their sleeve and being uncomfortable, then I think that’s who I was able to connect with.”

“No one who was a ballroom fan was ever going to like me,” he added.

Unfortunately, that negativity still follows Bobby Bones to this day. It even got to the point where he decided to give back the trophy in an attempt to put an end to the never-ending backlash.
Bobby Bones; Photo by Robby Klein

“I felt like a sixth grader and all the ninth grade dancing kids are shoving me in lockers. It is crazy. Was I supposed to show up and go, ‘well, since I didn’t have any training as a kid, I should just not win this competition.’ What did I do? I had a great attitude. I worked hard and here we are six years later, I’m still catching strays out of nowhere, so I sent the trophy back.
They don’t want me to be a part of the show, obviously, so I don’t want to be somewhere that doesn’t want me to be there. So I sent the trophy back to ABC. I no longer have the Mirrorball trophy,” he admitted.

What was once a highlight of his career now feels bittersweet, as Bones says the comments have changed the way he looks back on that experience.

“I loved my time there, but I would say things like this, Tom or Julianne or, there are even people that I work closely with, taking random shots at me this week that have just taken all the joy away from my time on that show, which is crazy,” he said with a sadness in his voice. “It was such a great joyous time, even though I was the only one in the whole crew that was dancing that had a full-time job at the same time. So I’m out. Nobody wants me there anyway, so go where you’re celebrated, not tolerated.”
Bobby Bones; Photo Provided

The Bergeron thing hurt a little bit, I’m going to be honest with you. And I have super thick skin, but, alright, that’s all. Just wanted to say that final thing,” he added.

His latest set of criticism surrounding the competition arose following the show’s 20^th anniversary celebration on Tuesday night, during which several alum, past winners, former pros and even Tom Bergeron himself made an appearance back in the ballroom.

Despite his disconnect from Dancing With the Stars, Bobby Bones has found success through his nationally syndicated radio program, The Bobby Bones Show, his podcast, Bobbycast, and other projects.