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Cheryl Burke is putting "completely cruel" comments about her appearance on blast.
The Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast host shared a video to her TikTok on Sunday (May 18) to "address the elephant in the comment section" of haters criticizing her "new face," shutting down theories that she was sick, using medication like Ozempic to lose weight or went under the knife for a brow lift or face transplant, noting, "the level of projection that is happening and that I'm witnessing is wild," per People.
The Dancing with the Stars alum, 41, called out online trolls talking about her like she's "not a person," calling out comments that have been comparing her appearance now to how she looked at the start of her career or even just a few years ago when she was "going through a divorce." Burke filed for divorce from Boy Meets World actor Matthew Lawrence in 2022 after three years of marriage.
"I hate to break it to you, but that Cheryl doesn't exist anymore," she said. "The assumptions are just exhausting as hell. 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."
She continued, "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. 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."
Burke admitted that while she is still an advocate for mental health and body image, the "pressure" to "prove" herself has been "challenging" as she doesn'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. The saddest part of all is the way I'm witnessing women tear down other women while pretending it's from concern," she said. "This is me at 41, I am still healing, still growing, and still choosing to show up."
She echoed the sentiment in the video's caption, emphasizing that she doesn't owe anyone an "explanation for my healing" and begging people to "stop dissecting women's bodies like they belong to you."