Julianne Hough will co-host for the upcoming 32nd season alongside Alfonso Ribeiro.
Tyra Banks can summarize her thoughts on Julianne Hough replacing her as co-host of Dancing With the Stars: she's perfect!
The 49-year-old model speaks to Us Weekly and offers her candid opinion about Hough, who last week was announced as Banks' replacement for the upcoming 32nd season of the reality dance competition. Hough will co-host alongside Alfonso Ribiero -- the season 19 winner -- with Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Julianne's brother, Derek Hough, set to return to the judges' table.
"The businesswoman in me sees how Julianne is great on multiple levels. She's a professional dancer. She is the sister of Derek [Hough], a Dancing With the Stars multi-champion, who is now a stellar judge," Banks tells the outlet. "It's going to be a family affair in that ballroom which people will love to watch. And she has so much personality and strong opinions backed by expertise. She's a perfect choice! She's gonna crush it!"
After revealing she was leaving the dance competition series, a source close to Banks told ET of her departure, "Tyra has always done things differently. Her SMiZE and Dream ice cream company will churn out much more than sweet treats this year with a global mission to make people’s dreams come true. Tyra’s also combining ice cream and entertainment so there will be a big announcements this year. She’s so enjoyed her time at DWTS and is incredibly grateful to ABC’s generous executive team and all of the amazing cast and crew."
A source also told ET, "It was a recent mutual decision to part ways with Tyra Banks and the show. Julianne has been the only one considered to replace Tyra as the co-host."
While at the John Wick Chapter 4 premiere last week, Derek spoke to ET's Nichelle Turner about his sister returning to the DWTS family.
"You know, it makes sense," he shared. "I mean, Julianne is an alum, you know. She's won the show twice. She's a part of the family, you know what I mean? And so when I heard the news too, I was like, 'That makes sense.'"
He added, "I've known for like a few days, but it still was relatively new to me and I was like, 'That's perfect."
And, for the record, there was a bit of hesitation on Julianne's part. Derek said she turned to him when it came to making the decision to come back to the show. Ultimately, he knew she would make the right choice
"There was a little bit of like, 'What do you think about this?' And I was like, 'Honestly, it sounds great. It sounds perfect,'" Derek told ET. "It feels right. It feels natural and I'm really excited. [I'm] really, really excited to see her and Alfonso do their thing and their chemistry and their energy. I mean, they could probably do a full dance routine together."
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