DWTS Pro Cheryl Burke Apologizes to Former Partner

ABC Cheryl Burke on season 29 of 'Dancing With the Stars'

A “Dancing With the Stars” pro has realized that a former partner of hers is owed an apology — Cheryl Burke publicly apologized to Ian Ziering on a recent episode of her podcast “Pretty Messed Up.” Find out why Burke felt compelled to apologize and what she had to say to Ziering.

Burke Wanted to Apologize to Ziering For Naming Him As Her Worst Partner

On a previous episode of “Pretty Messed Up,” a listener wanted to know if Burke’s least favorite partner really was Ziering, which is a reference to an interview she gave years ago on the podcast “Allegedly” (via TMZ) where she named him as her least favorite partner, that dancing with him made her want to “slit [her] wrists” and said she was begging producers to eliminate them from the show.

When the “Pretty Messed Up” listen asked about that, Burke would neither confirm nor deny that, which her co-host AJ McLean said “pretty much answers that question.” To that, Burke said, “Listen, I don’t want to get a letter from the BBC. Again.”

Burke now wants to publicly apologize for being “completely out of line” when she said what she said about Ziering.

Burke Realizes This Apology is Not Enough

On the podcast, Burke said that the one thing in her life she truly regrets is what she said about Ziering.

“I was completely out of line … they asked me who did I hate the most and I answered Ian Ziering and I said something along the lines of ‘I’d rather slit my wrists than dance with Ian Ziering again.’ I would say there’s no excuse, no matter if it was a joke or not, I know it hurt him and I know it hurt him and his family and it was a big deal,” said Burke.

She also acknowledged that simply agreeing to appear on “Dancing With the Stars” is such a vulnerable act and she was “so nasty” to do what she did.

“I’m here to say sorry. I truly am so sorry for being so inconsiderate and talking, trying to basically get a reaction, and putting him as my punching bag, really. At the end of the day, when someone does ‘Dancing With the Stars’ … they are already going on the show being vulnerable, and just because we don’t get along for a couple of days, I just took it to that next level of nastiness. I was so nasty, and I’m here to publicly apologize to Ian and his family. I know it hurt him,” said Burke.

She actually heard from fellow dancer Tony Dovolani that Ziering told Dovolani how hurt he was by Burke’s comments and she “lost a lot of respect” for herself when she said that.

“It haunts me to this day,” said Burke, adding that she hasn’t had the “courage” to reach out to him personally.

Her co-host Rene Elizondo told her that this apology was a good first step, but he advised her to reach out to Ziering and she agreed she should do that.

“I can say it all I want now and I can say it all I want on my YouTube channel, but I’m still really not making amends until I call him,” said Burke, half-joking that he probably blocked her number.

Burke isn’t the only “Dancing With the Stars” pro to talk about a partner not being all they hoped for. Keo Motsepe recently named his worst celebrity partner, though he did have a much more light-hearted reason than Burke.

“Dancing With the Stars” season 30 should premiere in September 2021 on ABC.

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