“Dancing With the Stars” alum Cheryl Burke didn’t appreciate Alix Earle’s stepmom’s “Ozempic” dig.
The retired ballroom dancer — who appeared as a guest judge for Tuesday’s “Halloween Night” — took to Instagram Thursday to clap back at “body-shamers” after Ashley Dupré lashed out at her for giving her stepdaughter a lower score than the other judges.
“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,” Burke, 41, told her followers in a selfie-style video.
“And I have seen so many mixed reviews, which is totally fine, but what’s not OK is I’ve also seen so many aggressive ones and a lot of body-shaming ones.”
She scolded those who “think body-shaming is OK, especially in front of your children,” arguing that it “sends a powerful message about what you value and, clearly, it’s not kindness.”
Burke 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.”
Following Earle’s “Halloween Night” tango with pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy, Dupré took to TikTok to slam Burke for giving the “f–king amazing” dance a score of nine while Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough gave it a perfect 10.
“Oh, go take more Ozempic,” an angry Dupré — who is married to Alix’s dad, Thomas “TJ” Earle — said in a reaction video, after Burke revealed her score.
When one of her young children questioned the remark, Dupré, 40, doubled down, saying, “She looks weird. She doesn’t even look like that.”
Burke first addressed her physical transformation in March after fans became worried that something was wrong.
“I’m not on Ozempic. I’m not sick. I didn’t get a face transplant. And, no, I didn’t get a brow lift,” Burke insisted at the time, adding that “the assumptions are just exhausting as hell.”
“My face has changed because I’ve changed. I’ve experienced so much trauma, divorce. And this is by no means a pity party,” she explained, referring to her split from Matthew Lawrence.
“Sobriety, burnout, reinvention. I’ve healed, I’ve lost, I’ve grieved like anybody else.”
In August, the former choreographer finally admitted to losing 41 pounds, crediting a portion-control food delivery service.
In a recent interview with Page Six, Burke weighed in on all the social media chatter surrounding “DWTS” Season 34, as viewers have been particularly critical of Inaba’s judging and scoring.
“I can definitely have empathy and compassion for her because I think I’ve experienced it, but in a different way,” Burke told us.
“All of the judges have said something that maybe the audience may not have liked, but the reaction of it has been a lot different, for sure, when Carrie Ann says something.”
The post ‘DWTS’ alum Cheryl Burke claps back at ‘body-shamers’ after Alix Earle’s stepmom’s ‘Ozempic’ dig appeared first on Page Six.
