Dancing with the Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev has addressed speculation that Tyra Banks might be leaving as host of Dancing with the Stars when it premieres a new season on Disney+.

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"As far as the show goes, the only information we received of it is we are going to be on a different platform, but as far as like, who's going to be part of it and even ourselves as dancers, I'm not sure," Artem, 39, told Us Weekly in a recent interview.

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Artem, however, teased that Dancing with the Stars' cast members will probably have their answers by August 2022, before the show debuts its 31st season in the fall when it streams on Disney+, the streaming service operated by ABC's Walt Disney corporate parent company.

"I feel like there's a lot of time ahead of us right now. So, we haven't got any information on that," Artem said. "We're definitely not the first people to find out what's going on."

Dancing with the Stars viewers have been speculating whether Tyra will return to host the reality dancing competition now that the series is leaving its broadcast home on ABC.

Tyra signed on to host Dancing with the Stars on ABC for its last two seasons. She replaced longtime host Tom Bergeron and his co-host Erin Andrews, who held the position for six seasons.

Earlier this month, former Dancing with the Stars co-host and Season 7 winner Brooke Burke claimed Tyra is "a diva" behind the scenes, according to Us.

"There's nothing wrong with that, and I'm not saying anything bad about her. Be a diva," Brooke, 50, said on the "Behind the Velvet Rope" podcast on April 13.

"It's [just] not the place to be a diva. Your pros are the [divas], your winners, your perfect 10 score dancer who's never done it -- that defines diva in the ballroom."

Brooke also touched upon Tyra's "tough transition" to her Dancing with the Stars role.

"Change is hard for everyone. They've gone through a lot on that show, that's for sure," Brooke said. "You're just not the star as the host. It's just not about you as the host, right? So, yeah, I think Tyra is great in a shining role. I will just say that."

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Tom shared in an October 2021 appearance on "Bob Saget's Here for You" podcast, "In all candor, the show that I left was not the show that I loved."

"The end of the season that turned out to be my last season [in 2019], I kind of knew. So I took everything out of my dressing room that I really wanted... It was kind of obvious that we were butting heads."

Tom "butting heads" with producers was evident when he publicly expressed disapproval over Dancing with the Stars casting former White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Season 28.

Amid backlash and criticism of Sean's casting from viewers, Tom took to Twitter and wrote how he hoped Dancing with the Stars would be "a joyful respite from" the country's "exhausting political climate."

Tom wanted to see the show be "free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations."

Tom said he thought producers were in agreement with him but then a decision was made to "go in a different direction" and "it is the prerogative" of producers and the show's network to make decisions they "feel are in the best long-term interests of the franchise."

"We can agree to disagree, as we do now," he confirmed, "but ultimately it's their call. I'll let it to them to answer any further questions about those decisions."

Tyra was subjected to major backlash during her first Dancing with the Stars season for flubbing her lines and altering the show's format.

"I don't read it," Tyra told Extra of criticism in October 2020, when Dancing with the Stars' 29th season was airing. "But they show me the ratings and I'm [confused]. I think a lot of it honestly is just people don't like change."

ABC announced in July 2020 the former America's Got Talent and America's Next Top Model host would be joining Dancing with the Stars as its new host and executive producer because the show planned to embark on "a new creative direction."

Many fans were especially disappointed to see Tom go considering he had served as the host of Dancing with the Stars since the series premiered on ABC in 2005 -- a span that covered 28 seasons and over 400 episodes.

Tyra previously said the hate "is what it is" and "at the same time, the ratings are so huge."

"I get the numbers. I'm a businessperson, so I want to understand from a business standpoint who's watching and why are they watching -- How old are they? What's their background? What's their nationality -- and all of this. And it is unprecedented how many more people are coming to the show," she explained at the time.

"And so I think what's happening is some people are going, 'I'm not happy about that.' But I know the network is happy because the network [is full of] business people that chose me."

Tyra added, "In some of our demos, the numbers are up 71 percent! Do you understand? That is crazy on TV! People are leaving TV and streaming or using their phones, but something about this show this season, it is a change."

"And so, why am I going to look at that crap?!" Tyra vented. "I've just got to keep going."

Tyra concluded there are just some people out there who are "unhappy" and want to be "nasty."

"They're trying to do whatever they can to be negative," Tyra said. "But you ain't going to take this businesswoman down!... I think our ratings are going to be up even more this week! I think they're going to be the highest ever."

Tyra revealed on The Late Late Show with James Corden earlier in 2020 that she actually didn't jump at the chance to host Dancing with the Stars and her mother ultimately convinced her to take the role.

"They called me and were like, 'Are you interested in this?' This was earlier this year," Tyra said, according to Us.

"And I'm like, 'You're calling me and asking me this? I would never in a million years think that I'd be asked to host.' So it took me months. I sat on it for months."

Tyra said she "made the right decision" by taking the job despite being blamed for technical errors and on-air mistakes, including poor line delivery.

"Every host messes up. It's just normal, it's live TV," she noted. "If it wasn't live, there would be no mess ups. But even on America's Next Top Model, I would mess up and tell my editors to leave it in. That's what makes things human and makes things alive."
  
"If I didn't want to mess up, if I wanted to be perfect, I know how to do that," she continued.

"There's a very clear way as a host that you just read the words and you're perfect and you know exactly how to do that. But when you relax and you keep it real, the mess ups happen, and the producer in me knows... it's live and it's real and it's better than being a doll."

Tyra insisted she knows how to "read a prompter perfectly."

Dancing with the Stars' 31st season will be the first live series to debut on Disney+.

Season 32 of Dancing with the Stars has also been picked up on Disney+ although its scheduling has yet to be announced.

Dancing with the Stars premiered in 2005 on ABC, but Walt Disney Television executive Dana Walden said the popular show leaving its original network supports ABC's initiative to "significantly" expand its unscripted slate.

"This is a great opportunity to introduce this show to a whole new generation of fans on Disney+," Dana explained.

Disney Media executive Kareem Daniel said in a statement earlier this month that Dancing with the Stars' "broad appeal" and "overwhelming popularity of its Disney-themed competition nights" made Disney+ the perfect place for the series, which is "continuing to expand [its] demographic reach."

BBC Studios executive Valerie Bruce noted how the next step forward is a "bold" one in "the evolution of the franchise."

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"Combined with our two-season pick-up, [the move] is a testament to the proven power of Dancing with the Stars and a resounding vote of confidence from our great, supportive partners at Disney, showing how much they value and believe in the brand," Valerie shared.

Dancing with the Stars' 30th season concluded with NBA champion Iman Shumpert and his professional partner Daniella Karagach winning the mirrorball trophy over the runner-up couple JoJo Siwa and pro partner Jenna Johnson.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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