Here’s hoping when Tom Bergeron thinks about Simone Biles, he smiles.
The former “Dancing with the Stars” host recently reflected on an on-air clash he had with the Olympic gold medalist when she was participating on the reality competition show in 2017.
During the infamous Season 24 moment, Biles didn’t hide her frustration when the “DWTS” judges mostly bashed her Paso Doble performance with her dancing partner, Sasha Farber.
In response to her unhappy facial expression, Bergeron told Biles: “I was waiting for you to smile at some of the compliments. You didn’t.”
Biles responded: “Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals.”
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Bergeron spoke about Biles tumbling all over his ego on Cheryl Burke’s “Sex, Lies and Spray Tans” podcast Monday.
About 50 minutes into the episode, Bergeron said his remark to Biles about smiling was one of the “rare times when I spoke before I thought” while he was hosting the live show.
He went on to say that although judges Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman were being “harsh” towards Biles while critiquing her dance routine, judge Carrie Ann Inaba was “very complimentary.”
He then went on to claim that while Tonioli and Goodman were piling on Biles, a “DWTS” producer said in 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 recalled. “Now what woman wants to hear a guy say, ‘Hey, sweetheart, smile!’” he said. “The moment it came out of my mouth, I thought, ‘Oh, you [idiot].’”
He admitted that Biles had the perfect retort to his remark.
“I was so properly put in my place,” Bergeron said, noting that Biles later had a T-shirt made with the phrase, “Smiling doesn’t win gold medals,” and Bergeron suggested they take a photo together with her wearing the 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 said. “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 didn’t win her season of “DWTS,” but she’s completely killing it in her sport as of late.
After a two-year absence from gymnastics, Biles won the individual all-around title at the world championships for the sixth time earlier this month.
Biles now has 34 medals across the world championships and Olympics, making her the most decorated gymnast ever at the sport’s two signature events — and that’s something to truly smile about.