Cheryl Burke, a former professional dancer on Dancing With the Stars, has hit back at the ongoing criticism about her appearance.
Burke previously spoke about the body shaming she endured after gaining weight during her 26 seasons on Dancing with the Stars — including being told she was “too fat” for TV at age 21. Earlier this year, she revealed a 35-pound weight loss, which prompted a new wave of criticism.
Now, in a new interview published Wednesday in Us Weekly, Burke, 41, set the record straight about her weight loss, denying claims she had excessive plastic surgery, underwent skin lightening, or used the popular weight loss drug, Ozempic.
“I’m done being judged,” she declared.
Burke, who has “never gone under the knife to get anything done,” credited her recent transformation with changing her eating habits. She no longer eats after 7 p.m. and told the publication that making that one shift “changed my whole body.”
In addition to her eating habits, Burke is seven years sober, single, and celibate. She attributed the changes, both internal and external, to the transition away from the ballroom and into the next phase of her life.
Part of that has meant stepping away from spray tans and tanning beds — staples from her 17 seasons on the ABC show — and allowing her natural skin to breathe. But even that has come with criticism from followers.
“Think about the mask I was wearing on the show, from head to toe. My skin color was 20 shades darker,” she said. “Maybe it’s a shock to some people when they see my actual skin color, and no, I’m not bleaching my skin, I’m very proud to be Asian.
“I’m learning to feel comfortable in my skin, my actual skin I was born with,” she continued. “This is who I am and I feel great that I don’t have layers of makeup on; this is just for me,” she explained. “Maybe in my chapter three, I may want to start tanning again and put on tons of makeup, but I’m in this era of my life, and if you don’t accept me, unfollow me.”
Looking back on the relentless criticism she’s received between her weight loss and her decades on TV, Burke acknowledged that she can’t control what others have to say about her. Previously, she felt like she needed to “gain others’ acceptance rather than find it within,” so “social media bullying” had a major effect on her.
“There were days it got really bad, and I did get depressed because it’s now on a whole other level of dehumanizing,” she recalled. “It doesn’t affect me as much as it did, and that has a lot to do with work I’ve been doing with my therapist of close to 15 years.”
“I’ve been in the public eye since I was 21. My body has changed over the past 20 years. My face has changed. Because I’ve changed,” she continued. “I’ve healed, I’ve lost, I’ve grieved like anybody else. And yeah, maybe it shows but I’m not sorry for it one bit.”
