Cheryl Burke is open to constructive criticism — but not when it comes in the form of blatant body shaming.
The former Dancing With the Stars pro, 41, addressed fans’ criticism of her scoring when she returned to the reality show as a guest judge via an Instagram video posted on Thursday, October 30.
Burke explained that her critiques were aimed at helping the contestants and pros improve their dancing and grow their skills and were based on her own extensive experience in the same space.
“My comments didn’t just come out of nowhere. It came from personal experience. It came from being on this show for 26 seasons, and it also came from all the years of being trained, being coached myself and I have seen so many mixed reviews, which is totally fine, but what’s not okay is I’ve also seen so many aggressive ones and a lot of body shaming ones,” she said.
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The body shaming remark appeared to be a reference to Alix Earle’s stepmom, Ashley Dupré, who reacted to Burke’s DWTS scoring by telling her via a TikTok clip to “go take more Ozempic” on Tuesday, October 28.
In her Instagram video, Burke added that she appreciated the feedback whether it was “amazing and beautiful messages” or “constructive criticism” but she drew the line at hateful remarks based on how she looks.
“I know that I did the best that I could with the information that I had and with what I saw in real time, and for the people who think body shaming is okay, especially in front of your children, that sends a powerful message about what you value,” she said.
The dancer continued, “And clearly it’s not kindness, I was simply again, doing my job as a judge, giving feedback based on almost 20 years of my life, and if my score was different from the other judges, it was by one point. I have dedicated my whole life towards being a competitor of ballroom dancing.”
Burke went on to urge people making body shaming remarks, especially in front of children, to consider the impact they are having.
“And you know, you don’t have to agree with my critique, but you do have to recognize the influence your words have on the next generation watching you. If that’s the example you choose to set, then please, I beg of you leave my name out of it.”
Dupré stepdaughter Earle, 24, and pro Val Chmerkovskiy danced a tango to Billie Eilish’s “Bury a Friend” on the show’s Halloween Night earlier this week.
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Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough each gave the influencer a 10. However, Burke gave Earle a slightly lower score of 9, prompting Dupré, 40, to make the controversial Ozempic comment.
In the clip, Dupré’s children could also be heard asking, “Go take more Ozempic?”
Dupré then replied, “What? She looks weird. Doesn’t even look like her.”
Burke previously spoke candidly about her weight with Us Weekly in August, denying she’d ever taken the weight loss medication.
“There’s just no way, I faint at the sight of needles,” she exclusively told Us. “And I’ve heard of side effects, people not feeling well, certain things that happen that are too gross to share. I’m not willing to feel like that. I changed my eating habits. I stopped eating past 7 p.m. and it changed my whole body. It wasn’t so much about a number on the scale as it was about how I feel.”
