Cheryl Burke, 42, Responds to Body-Shaming Critics, Says to 'Stop Comparing Me to When I Was 20'

In a new interview, Burke shared how retirement from dancing and perimenopause has transformed her appearance

NEED TO KNOW

• Cheryl Burke reflected on the recent onslaught of criticism about her looks in a new interview
• The former Dancing with the Stars pro shared a message to people comparing her appearance now to that of when she was younger
• In a June essay, Burke recalled the body-shaming she experienced following her television debut in 2006

Cheryl Burke has doubled down on her message to critics.

In a sit-down for the Dory Jackson Interview Series released on Wednesday, July 1, the former Dancing with the Stars pro encouraged those who have something negative to say "stop comparing me to when I was 20."

The 42-year-old television star turned beauty creator has previously addressed "exhausting" speculations about her looks, some of which claimed that her transformation was in part due to a GLP-1 medication, such as Ozempic. However, speaking with journalist Dory Jackson, Burke addressed the "psychological" and physical tolls of retiring from professional dancing, while adding that she's experiencing the changes that come with perimenopause.

"I was jacked, like my legs were — I was like a bodybuilder down there. When you're not pounding on your body, it's changing. Maybe not for the best, but it's just, that's life," she said.

Elsewhere, Burke admitted that the criticism does affect her from time to time. "It hasn't been too bad lately, but also there's going to come a point where it just gets old. People are going to say the same thing every time," she said.

In a June essay published by Glamour, Burke reflected on the onslaught of body-shaming that had become "tabloid fodder" after she made her 2006 debut on Dancing with the Stars.

"I remember turning on my TV one morning and seeing my name on the chyron: Is Cheryl too fat for TV? I will never forget that. I was 20-something years old, hormonally changing, finally living outside the rigid constraints of the competitive dance world for the first time, and my body was on the news," she shared.

Then, she claimed that two of her male costars, both pros on the series, "made comments about my weight on the press line after a live show. It got picked up everywhere." She continued, "Have I had my own personal conversations with these specific people? Absolutely. Do I forgive them? Absolutely. But it's still shocking."

Burke shut down the narrative that she was healthiest during that time.

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"What kills me now? Genuinely makes me furious? That people look back at photos of me from that era and say I looked so much healthier," she shared. "I was drinking every single night. I was eating Del Taco at midnight to soak up the alcohol. Are you kidding me? That's the body fans are nostalgic for? I was the alcoholic Cheryl back then, the party girl barely surviving some of those live shows. Every photo from that era — the ones where people now say I looked so good — I was basically hungover in. That is the version they are telling me I should return to."

She added, "I wouldn't wish the disgust I had for myself back then on anyone. It's wild how people on the internet think they own you, or even know you."

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