Cheryl Burke is speaking out after Ashley Dupré, stepmother to influencer Alix Earle, body-shamed her over a scoring decision on the October 28 episode of “Dancing with the Stars.” The 41-year-old dancer appeared as a guest judge during the show’s Halloween Night, where she awarded Earle and her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy a 9 out of 10 for their tango to Billie Eilish’s “bury a friend.”
(Disney/Christopher Willard) Watching from home with Earle’s younger siblings, Dupré aimed Burke in a TikTok video, saying, “Oh, go take more Ozempic!” and adding, “She looks weird. Doesn’t even look like her.”
Burke Responds: ‘It’s About Growth, Not Perfection’
Burke addressed the remark in an Instagram video on October 30, explaining her judging philosophy and speaking out against body-shaming.
“My goal was just to be able to give any helpful notes if needed, because that’s all I can really do,” she said. “’Dancing with the Stars’ is about growth. It’s about progression. It’s not about perfection, and it’s definitely about each couple’s personal journey.”
She added, “How can anyone grow or improve if they feel they don’t get enough constructive criticism?”
The Pro Dancer Condemns Body-Shaming
Getty (Frazer Harrison)In her video, Burke acknowledged mixed reactions to her judging but drew the line at personal attacks.
“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. “For the people who think body-shaming is okay, especially in front of your children, that sends a powerful message about what you value, and clearly it’s not kindness.”
Her comments seemed to point directly at Dupré, as children in the TikTok video could be heard asking what “take more Ozempic” meant.
Burke Defends Her Score & Her Experience
(Disney/Christopher Willard) The longtime pro made it clear she stood by her critique. “I was simply again doing my job as a judge, giving feedback based on almost 20 years of my life,” Burke explained. “If my score was different from the other judges, it was by 1 point.”
She added, “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.”
Burke also previously addressed speculation about her appearance. Speaking to People earlier this year, she said, “These are all assumptions that people have thrown at me, as far as Ozempic, my face … I’ve always had criticism, but what’s shocking is that this is worse than when I gained weight. These are really mean and cruel messages.”
That woman who was defending her step daughter should have kept it to herself. The judges have enough pressure watching all the dancers & scoring the way they interpret the dance. So back off & let them do their jobs. We all can’t agree with all the scoring but we are not professionals. Sorry this happened to you Cheryl & hope not affected you too much.
I thought Cheryl looked great. I haven’t seen for awhile. She looked very pretty.