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Cheryl Burke has responded to critics who have taken issue with her appearance.
On Thursday, February 19, the 41-year-old took to Instagram to address comments from online trolls who criticized her eyebrows. In a candid video, Burke explained the situation to her followers.
“For those questioning why my eyebrows seem to extend down to my cheeks, it’s simply the natural structure of my face,” she clarified. “I have sunken-in temples.”
The former Dancing With the Stars professional also shared that she has considered using fillers to alter the “sunken” look, indicating her openness to cosmetic enhancement.
Cheryl Burke is receptive to constructive feedback, but she draws the line at body shaming. In a recent Instagram video shared on Thursday, October 30, she addressed viewers’ criticisms regarding her scoring decisions when she returned as a guest judge on the popular dance competition show. Burke took the opportunity to explain her perspective and defend her professional judgments.
“I realize that my temples are sunken in, so it is what it is for now until I decide to pull the trigger and get filler,” she continued, telling haters to “back off.”
“Until then, focus on your own face,” she said. Burke also made it clear that she’s not penciling on her eyebrows “down to [her] cheeks,” but that her bone structure creates a “shadow” to her temples.
She concluded the video by saying, “Should we pick on your face now?”
“Apparently I ‘draw my eyebrows down to my cheeks,’” Burke captioned the post. “No — my temples are naturally more hollow, and yes, I’m aware of it. Whether I choose filler or not is a personal decision.” She added, “In the meantime, let’s spend less time analyzing faces and more time building something meaningful.”
This isn’t the first time Burke has clapped back at haters. In October 2025, she responded to hate comments after she made an appearance as a guest judge on Dancing With the Stars.
At the time, she gave Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy a 9, while the season’s main judges, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough, each gave her a 10. Earle’s stepmom, Ashley Dupré, then made comments about Burke’s look via TikTok, telling her to “take more Ozempic.”
Burke then defended her critiques of Earle via social media. “My comments didn’t just come out of nowhere. It came from personal experience. It came from being on this show for 26 seasons, and it also came from all the years of being trained, being coached myself and I have seen so many mixed reviews, which is totally fine, but what’s not okay is I’ve also seen so many aggressive ones and a lot of body shaming ones,” she said.
She continued, seemingly referencing Durpé’s comments, “I know that I did the best that I could with the information that I had and with what I saw in real time, and for the people who think body shaming is OK, especially in front of your children.” Burke added, “That sends a powerful message about what you value.”
In Dupré’s TikTok, she was seen watching Earle dance on the show with her other kids, Izabel, 13, Penelope, 10, and Thomas, 8. After Burke didn’t give Earle a perfect score, Dupré, 40, said, “Go take more Ozempic.”
Cheryl Burke has faced scrutiny over her appearance throughout her career as a dancer — but she’s never been afraid to defend herself. “I am done being judged,” Burke exclusively told Us Weekly in her August 2025 cover story, noting that she had been bullied online for body before and after she lost weight. The […]
Her kids then asked what she meant, to which she replied, “What? She looks weird. Doesn’t even look like her.”
Burke exclusively told Us Weekly that she has not taken the weight loss medication in August 2025. “There’s just no way, I faint at the sight of needles,” she told Us. “And I’ve heard of side effects, people not feeling well, certain things that happen that are too gross to share. I’m not willing to feel like that.”
She explained that she lost weight by changing her “eating habits.”