Cheryl Burke is putting her foot down when it comes to people criticizing her appearance.
On Sunday, the “Dancing with the Stars” alum took to social media to address the recent comments she has gotten about her looks and to clear the air about whether she has had work done.
“Let’s just address the elephant in the comment section,” Burke said in a TikTok video. “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.”
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“The level of projection that is happening and that I’m witnessing is wild,” she said, adding that people discuss her online as if she is “not a person.”
“The way some of you guys talk about me, you think I’m a headline or a filter, not a person.”
Burke elaborated on the “most disappointing part,” saying people are expecting to see an “old” version of herself.
“‘Suite Life of Zack and Cody,’ Cheryl,” she said. “Back in 2006, ‘Dancing with the Stars’ season 2, when I was 21 years old, or three years ago, Cheryl, where I was going through a divorce. I hate to break it to you, but that Cheryl doesn’t exist anymore.”
“The assumptions are just exhausting as hell,” she continued. “The accusations are completely cruel, and the fact that so many of them are actually coming from women, that’s what is so shocking and hurtful to be quite honest.”
“I have been in the public eye since I was 21 years old, my body has changed over the past 20 years, my face has changed because I’ve changed,” Burke added. “I’ve experienced so much trauma, divorce, and this is by no means a pity party. Sobriety, burnout, reinvention, I’ve healed, I’ve lost, I’ve grieved like anybody else.”
“And yeah, maybe it shows, but I’m not sorry for it, not one bit,” she added.
Burke – who divorced Matthew Lawrence in 2022 – admitted to one big change, however.
“You want to know what’s really changed?” she asked. “My passion, my purpose, my commitment, my commitment to using this platform for something real.
“What’s been so challenging is this pressure to prove that I haven’t done something,” she continued.
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“I’m still the same person who has advocated for mental health and body image for many years,” she said. “I just do it differently now than maybe you’re used to. I’m quieter, I have boundaries and more discernment, and frankly, I don’t feel safe the way I used to.”
“There’s a tone now on certain platforms that feels more like a firing squad than an actual community,” she continued. “The saddest part of all is the way I’m witnessing women tear down other women while pretending it’s from concern. This is me at 41, I am still healing, still growing, and still choosing to show up.”
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Burke said if her followers are only there to “speculate, compare, or demand answers that you’re just not entitled to,” those people are “not welcome” in her space.
“But, if you’re here to evolve, unlearn, to support, welcome, we’re just getting started,” she concluded.
In the caption of the video, Burke wrote, “I’m not on Ozempic. I’m not sick. I didn’t get a ‘new face.’ Stop dissecting women’s bodies like they belong to you. This is YOUR reminder: I don’t owe you an explanation for my healing or for anything quite frankly. Let this be the last time I have to say it.”
