Burke said she was moved to speak out after receiving an onslaught of online bullying, namely about her appearance, with the DWTS alum sharing that her recent weight loss brought out a whole set of new trolls.
Cheryl Burke has a message to her haters, and she’s making it loud and clear.
The Dancing with the Stars alum is speaking out after enduring years of brutal body shaming — from fans, trolls, and even costars — and says she’s no longer tolerating it.
“I am done being judged,” the 41-year-old dance pro said in an interview with Us Weekly. “It’s always been this race for me to try and gain others’ acceptance rather than find it within myself.”
After 17 seasons on DWTS, Burke walked away from the show in 2022. Since then, she’s become a beauty influencer and podcaster, but the scrutiny hasn’t stopped, and has only worsened as her appearance has evolved. Now sober and celibate, Burke says the commentary online has crossed the line.
“There’s a very inappropriate video going around,” she explained, referencing TikToks made by strangers using graphics and arrows to dissect her face. “People are making full-on TikTok videos that they’re editing together, scripting, using graphics, arrows, to point out my face, about the scars that they supposedly see.”
After being called “too big” for years, Burke’s recent weight loss brought a fresh wave of criticism, with some accusing her of taking weight-loss drugs, bleaching her skin, and having plastic surgery.
“I am not a liar. I’ve never gone under the knife to get anything done,” she said, denying the claims. “There’s been no nips, tucks, Ozempic, nothing like that.”
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Burke added, “I’ve seen horrible videos — plastic surgery gone wrong. Also, my mom is blind in one eye — she tried to get an extra fold in her eye — and that scared the crap out of me… For me, it’s just not an option.”
Touching further on weight loss drugs, she said, “to each their own,” but they’re not for her.
“It’s a personal thing… I’m not here to judge,” Burke said before sharing why Ozempic isn’t her thing. “There’s just no way, I faint at the sight of needles.”
Burke attributes her weight loss to simple lifestyle changes, including no longer eating after 7:00 p.m. and signing up for the Z.E.N. Foods delivery program.
“I’m not trying to lose weight anymore,” she said. “I eat licorice… I have to have my matcha from Peet Coffee every morning, and if they have the warm pretzel bread, I’ll get it because it’s just the best thing in the world. I’m very lenient.”
At her heaviest, Burke says she weighed around 150 pounds. “The last time I checked, I was 109,” she shared. “I feel f–king great; my energy is on another level. That 109 doesn’t matter, what matters is how I feel.”
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As for accusations that she’s lightened her skin, Burke said the change is simply a result of ditching the tanning products she wore during her DWTS years.
“Think about the mask I was wearing on the show, from head to toe. My skin color was 20 shades darker,” she said. “That was just what I knew; that’s the competitive ballroom world. I’m learning and realizing who I am underneath all of the makeup, without the tanning beds, the spray tans, all of the extra stuff that I now call a mask.”
She continued, “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 feel like I’ve represented my community in a good light.”
Though Burke admits the hateful comments still sting, years of therapy and inner work have helped her build up a thick skin.
“To say that the social media bullying has not affected me would be a lie. I’m human,” she said. “There were days it got really bad, and I did get depressed because it’s now on a whole other level of dehumanizing. 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.”
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One video that particularly rattled her came from an astrologer.
“All she said were negative things, and that freaked me out because I’m a believer of astrology,” Burke shared. “When you start to mess with stuff I can’t control, then I’m freaking out. But my energy healer said, ‘We’re going to protect your energy.’ And I deleted [TikTok].”
Burke says she’s doing her best to disengage: “I’ve stopped scrolling, and I try not to read any comments, though it’s tempting… It’s ridiculous. When it first happened, a few months ago, it was shocking to my system because it was a video of me talking about my mental health, and then just people commenting on the way I look.”
When asked what she’d say to her online critics, Burke didn’t hold back: “You must be so reactive to have to say anything negative on somebody’s page. You’re tagging me and coming on my page to start this war… That says a lot about that person.”
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Despite the noise, Burke, who has been sober for 7 years, remains committed to using her platform for good, especially when it comes to mental health and sobriety.
“I want to empower others and normalize mental health issues,” she said. “Whether people think I overshare — again, none of my business. I believe I was given this platform because I can be open about my issues, like my sobriety. If I don’t voice it, if I don’t take accountability over how I feel, then the chances of me relapsing are quite high. I know I’m helping at least one other person feel like they’re not alone.”
