[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Cheryl Burke has only one regret in her life: her past comments made about dancing partner Ian Ziering.
In case you didn’t know, the two were paired together during season 4 of Dancing with the Stars in 2007. But during a 2016 appearance on the Allegedly with Theo Von and Matthew Cole Weiss podcast, Burke said Ziering had been her “least favorite” partner ever. Ouch!
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Unfortunately, the pro’s remarks didn’t stop there and became increasingly harsh. At the time, she said the way he pronounced his first name made her “want to throw up” and working with him even “made me want to slit my wrists.” WTF?!
She also allegedly tried to get them eliminated early, saying:
“I was like, ‘Hey execs’ — I was like crying to the executives — ‘Is there any way to force us, to just like eliminate us?’”
Of course, that did not happen, and the duo landed in fourth place.
Now, on a recent episode of her Pretty Messed Up podcast, the 36-year-old has apologized for the “nasty” words she had for the 57-year-old actor in the past. She told her co-host, AJ McLean:
“The one thing I truly regret and want to make amends with is Ian Ziering. I was completely out of line a few years ago, and I did a podcast where they were asking me who my favorite partner was and 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.’”
Burke continued:
“I know it hurt him, and I know it hurt his family. It was a big deal. I truly am so sorry for being so inconsiderate and just talking trying to get a reaction, and putting him as my punching bag really. I 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 lost a lot of respect for myself. It haunts me ’til this day.”
The host went on to mention how she hasn’t “had the courage” to directly make amends to the Sharknado alum, while also noting there’s “no excuse” for her words “no matter if it was a joke or not.” She then added:
“I’m not a malicious person, and I never was, but I definitely did it for validity. But there’s no excuse. I did it, and I apologize.”
Take a listen to the full message (below):
This marks the first time Cheryl has publicly apologized to Ian since the insensitive comments. After the 2016 interview, the TV personality had issued an apology for her word choices but only in regards to the “slit my wrists” line. She said at the time:
“I’ve always lived by the rule that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Recently and regrettably, I broke that rule. In the heat of an interview conversation, I used a phrase that seemingly makes light of suicide and I deeply regret it.”
Burke then noted how she had “many friends and family members that struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide” before concluding with:
“To have said something that seemingly makes a mockery of what they’ve gone through and what they live with is something that I apologize for. I never meant to hurt anyone or to trivialize the topic. I was out of line and for that, I apologize.”
As of right now, Ziering has not addressed Burke’s apology. What did U think of Cheryl’s previous message, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments (below).
[Image via Cheryl Burke/Instagram & Brian To/WENN]
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