close
close

Cheryl Burke on Anna Delvey's post-elimination comments

Cheryl Burke on Anna Delvey's post-elimination comments

No love lost. Cheryl Burke, who was a professional on “Dancing With the Stars” for 26 seasons, reacts to Anna Delvey's statement that she took “nothing” away from her time on the ABC dance competition show.

“I think the feeling is mutual among fans of the show,” says Burke diversity.

On the September 24 episode, Delvey and her partner Ezra Sosa went home in the first double elimination of the season; Tori Spelling and Pasha Pashkov were also eliminated. When co-host Julianne Hough asked her what she took away from the experience, Delvey simply replied, “Nothing.” Later, in an interview with “Good Morning America,” she was asked what she liked most about the experience. “The elimination,” she replied.

Burke has been outspoken about Delvey in the past, sharing her opinions on her podcast “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans.” After the premiere, she noted that Delvey, who rose to fame by defrauding banks, hotels and people, needed to open up to get America to vote for her.

“As funny and dry as it is, I don't think most Americans can relate to her,” she said on the Sept. 19 episode. “So I hope Ezra or someone else breaks her open, because she's human. She's not a robot. There's a heart in there somewhere, right? I wish the nervousness would create a little more emotion.”

She continued, “People are not happy that she's on the show. The only way she's going to change people's minds is if she shows emotion. That's the key… She continues to leave a bad taste in people's mouths because she's not willing to show herself vulnerable. And unfortunately, with a show like this, you either trust the process and you're willing to embrace it, or you don't and you try to be cool, or you try to reinvent yourself. But just do the work, because reinventing yourself will happen, I promise, if you just focus on what's in front of you, which is your next dance.”

Burke isn't the only member of the Dancing With the Stars family to speak out about Delvey's comments following his elimination.

On Wednesday's episode of “The Talk,” co-host Amanda Kloots, who competed on Season 30 of the show, said the show “changed my life.” “It healed me in ways I never expected,” Kloots said. “I think it's a shame that she said she didn't get anything.”

“DWTS” co-host Alfonso Ribeiro, who also won the competition in season 19, agreed. “My life has changed a lot… my career is back thanks to this show, I owe everything to this show,” he said.

Before the season's debut, showrunner Conrad Green spoke about the backlash against casting Delvey, a convicted felon. “I think she has an innate curiosity. She's very interested in the world of fashion and things like that, so I think she's going to present herself very well as a dancer. I think people really want to see her,” he said at the time. “She's a very important and interesting part of the cast. Yes, she's had her issues, but we've had other people on the show who have had criminal issues in the past. She's served her time. I think it's totally legitimate for her to be on the show, and I think people were really curious to see how she's doing.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *