After the ‘Dawson’s Creek’ reunion brought James Van Der Beek’s heartbreaking cancer battle to the forefront of the public eye, former ‘Dancing with the Stars‘ host Tom Bergeron was reminded of some kind words the actor had to say about him back in 2020.
ABC had just let Bergeron go after 15 years hosting ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ and Van Der Beek was being interviewed by US Weekly correspondent Christina Garibaldi for her ‘Moms Like Us’ segment. Bergeron shared a clip of the interview on his Instagram — and Van Der Beek had some lovely things to say about the former host of ‘Hollywood Squares’ and ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos.’
Van Der Beek, of course, took part in 2019’s season 28 of ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ finishing in a respectable fifth place with his professional dance partner, Emma Slater. He recalled his time on the show fondly.
Van Der Beek Gushed About ‘Big-Hearted’ Bergeron
Referencing the departures of Tom Bergeron and his co-host Erin Andrews from ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ Christina Garibaldi had asked James Van Der Beek, “What was your reaction when you heard about Tom and Erin?”
Van Der Beek replied, “I mean, I’ll be honest, I loved Tom and Erin.” He continued, “That is just a crazy experience, that show,” before adding, “and in the middle of that was this guy who was so quick on his feet, so funny, and so big-hearted,” before saying similarly nice things about Andrews.
He then went on to say “I count myself lucky that I got to do the show when they were there, because I really, really appreciated just how they approached it, and what they were for us in the eye of that storm.”
The actor then told a little anecdote about Bergeron, saying, “One of my favorite moments with my mom was courtesy of Tom. After the contemporary, he looked over, saw her, and put a hand on my back, and just kind of nudged me to go over, knowing that we had the time. So I did and I gave her a hug right after. It was one of my top memories of my mom.”
Bergeron shared a clip from the interview to his Instagram account, along with the caption, “Reading this morning about the emotional @dawsonscreek_official reunion & was reminded of @vanderjames’ sweet comments 5 years ago, after my little employment hiccup 😏. Sending thanks & best wishes to you, James, for a full remission & recovery.”
The post garnered a wholesome reaction from Bergeron’s followers.
Fans Praised Bergeron and Wished ‘Good Human’ Van Der Beek Well
GettyThe comments included praise for Tom Bergeron’s time on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ as well as well wishes regarding James Van Der Beek’s health situation.
Most users simply opted to post love heart emojis in support of the pair, but some went a little further.
One user commented about Van Der Beek, “❤️this is gutting me- he’s such a good human this is not fair.”
Someone else said, “Sounds exactly how we feel too!”
Another user who misses Bergeron on DWTS wrote, “I quit watching when you left. Your commentary was the BEST!”
We wish James Van Der Beek well as he continues his fight against this horrible disease.
