Entertainment
Cheryl Burke Slams Body Shamers Over 20-Year-Old Comparisons
Dancing With the Stars alum Cheryl Burke has had enough of the constant online body-shaming.
“I was jacked, like my legs were — I was like a bodybuilder down there,” Burke, 42, said during a sit-down interview for the Wednesday, July 1, episode of the Dory Jackson Interview Series, adding that she simply wishes people would “stop comparing me to when I was 20.”
“When you’re not pounding on your body, it’s changing,” she continued. “Maybe not for the best, but it’s just, that’s life.”
Burke — who fans have accused of using GLP-1s in the wake of her years- long weight loss journey — later admitted in the same interview that the constant speculation about her body, size and weight has taken a mental and emotional toll.
Cheryl Burke has faced scrutiny over her appearance throughout her career as a dancer — but she’s never been afraid to defend herself. “I am done being judged,” Burke exclusively told Us Weekly in her August 2025 cover story, noting that she had been bullied online for body before and after she lost weight. The […]
“It hasn’t been too bad lately, but also there’s going to come a point where it just gets old,” she added. “People are going to say the same thing every time.”
Cheryl Burke Getty Images
In May 2025, Burke confirmed that she suffers from body dysmorphia, which at many points in her life contributed to unhealthy or disordered eating habits.
“I do suffer from body dysmorphia, and especially as a dancer in front of mirrors constantly — since I was a little girl,” she told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “Even before my Dancing With the Stars career, my weight has always been an issue. I think what people sometimes don’t understand is it is a lot of work [and] it takes a lot of work and it takes a lot of self-care.”
In August of the same year, Burke opened up exclusively to Us Weekly about her weight loss journey, breaking down how she went from 145 to 109 pounds.
“I don’t weigh myself daily anymore because it was a problem. At my heaviest I was about 150,” she revealed at the time. “The last time I checked, I was 109. I feel f***ing great; my energy is on another level. That 109 doesn’t matter, what matters is how I feel.”
She continued at the time, “I eat licorice. I have my morning fruit shake, which is more calories than any of my meals that I’m eating. I have to have my matcha from Peet’s Coffee every morning, and if the have the warm pretzel bread, I’ll get it because it’s just the best thing in the world. I’m very lenient.”
Cheryl Burke has had enough. Throughout her career, including 17 years competing as a pro on Dancing With the Stars (which she left in 2022), she’s endured relentless body shaming. She also suffers from body dysmorphic disorder, an intense fixation on her looks and perceived flaws. For decades, she took other people’s critiques to heart. […]
Burke then described the healthy-eating plan called Z.E.N, which delivers food to her home and has assisted her in both establishing healthy eating habits.
“The food is delicious and it’s portion control,” she said of the program at the time, revealing that every day she consumed anywhere from 1,200 to 1,400 calories. “I have oatmeal with fruit every morning. I have a snack, pita, chips and hummus. Lunch is normally a salad and then I will have my dinner. It’s not diet food, it’s real food.”
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