Originally appeared on E! Online.
Cheryl Burke isn’t missing a beat when it comes to shutting down speculation.
The “Dancing With the Stars” alum addressed comments she’s recently received over her seemingly changed appearance, clapping back at any speculation she’s gone under the knife or turned to weight loss drugs.
“So, let’s just address the elephant in the comments section. I’m not on Ozempic, I’m not sick, I didn’t get a face transplant and no I did not get a brow lift,” she said in a May 18 TikTok video of herself taking off her makeup for the day. “The level of projection that is happening and that I am witnessing is wild. The way some of you guys talk about me, it’s like you think I’m a headline or a filter. Not a person.”
Detailing how she’s seen “we miss the old Cheryl” comments, the 41-year-old pointed to her decades in the public eye — including on “Dancing With the Stars” and as a 21-year-old on The Suite Life of Zac and Cody. Beyond that, she sees herself as always evolving, even from the person she was in 2022 when she divorced Matthew Lawrence.
READ: DWTS alum Cheryl Burke shares hasn’t gone on a date in over year amid ongoing celibacy journey
“I hate to break it to you,” Burke explained. “That Cheryl doesn’t exist anymore. 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 honest.”
“I’ve been in the public eye since I was 21,” she continued. “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 isn’t a pitty party — sobriety, burn out, 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 one bit.”
These days, Burke has more boundaries and discernment when it comes to speaking about her body on the internet.
@cherylburkeofficial 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. #stopbodyshaming #realtalk #mentalhealthawareness
♬ original sound – Cheryl Burke
“I don’t feel safe the way I used to,” she said. “There’s a tone now on certain platforms that feels more like a firing squad than an actual community. I’m witnessing women tear down other women while pretending it’s from concern.”
As such, she is not putting up with trolls wanting to weigh in on her life. Burke was firm on the stance she is taking moving forward on social media, and who she is and isn’t inviting into her life.
“If you’re here to speculate, compare or just demand answers that you’re not entitled to, you’re not welcome in this space that I have created,” she said. “But if you’re here to evolve, to unlearn, to support. Welcome, we’re just getting started.”
In the caption of her post, Burke continued to take a stand.
“Stop dissecting women’s bodies like they belong to you,” she wrote. “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.”
PHOTOS: Cheryl Burke
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