Alfonso Ribeiro is opening up about hosting Dancing With the Stars, and why Tyra Banks didn’t work out.
The 54-year-old star spoke out in an interview with Parade about the experience, and why the America’s Next leading Model host bowed out two years prior.
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“Unfortunately for Tyra, she came onto the show during COVID. And not having the ability to connect with the celebrities and with the pros—how do you do that?” he asked.
“It was always a two-person job. It became a one-woman show. So everything was on her to deliver everything when the show wasn’t designed that way,” he continued, referring to co-hosting with Julianne Hough.
Tyra joined in Season 29, with Alfonso joining as co-host in Season 31. She left before Season 32, and Julianne joined.
“The show set her up for failure because there was no way for her to win,” he added.
Plus, the original beloved host Tom Bergeron left the show in 2020.
“You’re following Tom Bergeron, the best host on television, right? You don’t have a co-partner, you don’t have anyone to bounce off of. It’s just you, which makes it about just you, right? Just by default,” he went on.
“Everything about her first two seasons was a setup for failure. Not that it was a failure, because the show still did well. But I feel like for the audience, they didn’t get to see what it felt like before because the setup was completely different,” he concluded.
“At the end of the day, I was friends with Tyra. I still am friends with Tyra, and I respect Tyra immensely. She’s a wonderful person and performer,” Alfonso added of their relationship.
“It sucks, because could she have been the long-term host of the show if it had been a different time.”
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