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"Now what woman wants to hear a guy say, 'Hey, sweetheart, smile! The moment it came out of my mouth, I thought, 'Oh, you [idiot],'" Tom Bergeron recalled.
It's not wise to ever tell a woman to "smile," which is something former Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron learned the hard way.
As DWTS fans can recall, during Season 24 back in 2017, Bergeron made an unkind comment toward gymnast Simone Biles, who was noticeably unhappy after the judges criticized her and partner Sasha Farber's Paso Doble performance.
Reacting to the Olympic gold medalist's facial expression, Bergeron said, "I was waiting for you to smile at some of the compliments. You didn't." Biles hit back, "Smiling doesn't win you gold medals."
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View StoryWhile appearing on DWTS alum Cheryl Burke's Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast earlier this week, Bergeron reflected on the infamous moment, admitting that it was was one of the "rare times when I spoke before I thought" during his nearly 15-year stint as host on the reality competition series.
The TV personality noted how then-judges Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman were "harsh," but Carrie Ann Inaba was "very complimentary" towards Biles. Bergeron claimed that a producer told him, through his earpiece, "Wow, she's not even smiling at Carrie Ann's compliments."
"So instead of saying, 'Simone, what's your reaction to the judges’ comments? Now, Carrie Ann was complimentary and the other two less so.' Instead of saying that, I had that last thought from [the producer] in my head, and I went, 'I noticed you didn't smile,'" Bergeron said. "Now what woman wants to hear a guy say, ‘Hey, sweetheart, smile! The moment it came out of my mouth, I thought, 'Oh, you [idiot].'"
Bergeron praised Biles for calling him out over his comment.
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"I was so properly put in my place," he said, before sharing that Biles created t-shirts with her infamous response.
The game show host went on to add that he suggested they pose for a photo together with Biles wearing her shirt.
"I stood next to her looking very sheepish while she wore that wonderful shirt, and we put that on social media and everything," Bergeron recalled. "But that was one time when I wished I had taken a beat, translated what I heard in my ear, and put it in my own words."
Biles came in fourth place on Dancing with the Stars. Bergeron hosted the show from 2005 until his departure in 2019.
