‘Dancing With the Stars’ Fans Wonder Why Erin Andrews Isn’t Super Bowl Night Guest Judge

Joe Buck has been tapped as the guest judge for Super Bowl Night on the upcoming episode of Dancing With the Stars. The remaining 11 couples will dance to songs by former Super Bowl Halftime Show performers.

When the news was announced on October 8, many fans expressed disappointment that a familiar face who’s also involved in the sports world wasn’t chosen for the guest judge spot: Erin Andrews. Andrews, who is now the lead NFL sideline reporter for Fox Sports, previously came in third place on DWTS and cohosted the series with Tom Bergeron from 2014 to 2019.

“And y’all didn’t contact Erin Andrews why?” one fan on X wondered. “They didn’t have the budget to hire erin andrews ?” another questioned. Someone else wrote, “Literally why, could’ve been erin Andrews, or any of the other football stars who have competed and a few that have even won dancing with the stars.”

Another commenter said, “so you’re telling me we could’ve had erin andrews back in the ballroom????????????” and someone else wrote, “she used to annoy me as a host, but low-key missed opportunity to get Erin Andrews.”

Courtesy Everett Collection

Of course, there appears to be a good reason the show went with Buck. After all, he works for the networks where the 2027 Super Bowl will be airing, ESPN and Dancing With the Stars‘ own, ABC. This one looks to be all about synergy and cross-promotion for The Walt Disney Company.

Andrews and Bergeron were fired from Dancing With the Stars in July 2020 after higher ups decided to take the show in a different creative direction.

“I felt sorry for myself, and I kind of was like, ‘This is a terrible time to lose my job,’ because we don’t know when live television is coming back. These are hard jobs to get,” Andrews admitted that September, referring to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. “So I was like, ‘Oh no, I’m a loser, this is really bad,’ and then you just start talking to other people from other networks and people that have production groups and they’re like, ‘You’re going to find something.’ But yeah, it was a super big bummer.”

By November 2021, she had a more positive outlook. “My schedule has been so crazy with [football], the clothing line, the podcasts, all this stuff, trying to have a baby, that I think it was the best thing for me,” she told Us Weekly. “They wanted to go a different direction, and they’re doing that now. So, hopefully they’re happy.”

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She added, “I feel like the one thing I’ve learned in this business is that’s show business, right? That’s Hollywood. They’re always trying to change things. And look, they wanted to go in a different and new direction, and obviously it’s working for them, and how they wanted the show to go, so my best to them.”

Tyra Banks served as host for Seasons 29 and 30, and was joined by Alfonso Ribeiro as her cohost for Season 31. Ribeiro took over as lead host in Season 32, with Julianne Hough joining him as cohost.

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+