Dancing with the Stars fans were shocked when Sharna Burgess wasn’t asked back for Season 32. Sharna was also surprised that she didn’t get an invite.
Sharna mentioned on her new podcast, Oldish, that she had a “really difficult” celeb partner in the past. The pro dancer didn’t name any names, but Jesse Metcalfe’s rep responded. “If she is referring to a time where our client Jesse Metcalfe worked with Ms. Burgess four years ago, the only recollection was that they didn’t get along. Vague insinuations are not only reckless but also irrelevant,” Jesse’s rep stated.
Sharna stood up for herself
Sharna was a guest on fellow DWTS alum Cheryl Burke’s podcast, Sex, Lies & Spray Tans. The topic was setting boundaries in rehearsals and on the dance floor. Sharna had two celebrity partners in the past that made her uneasy.
“I have in the past had two partners that made me feel very, very uncomfortable. At the time I was much younger and I would laugh it up and suck it up and I would make it ok,” Sharna explained.
One of Sharna’s partners flirted with her. While Sharna didn’t respond, she did tell a producer. The producer told Sharna to play along with the flirting. “This is going back years and years. This was pre-Me Too,” she said.
Sharna continued, “I learned during and after Me Too, women coming forward and saying, from the big to the little things, I was like holy sh*t that happened to me, I didn’t even realize that I could speak up about it.” Sharna discovered how to “set up boundaries” with her partners.
An awkward situation
“I had a situation with a partner where it got to the point where we couldn’t be alone in a room without people watching,” Sharna stated. “That was a difficult situation for me.” She noted, “Unfortunately I wasn’t able to record everything, but I was able to record some things and I did do the proper things and there were reports made and I was taken care of.” She added that the behavior “was not sexual in any nature.”
Cheryl responded, “At the end of the day, no need to explain. You were uncomfortable, that’s a complete sentence.”
Sharna said, “I did the right thing and I went to the right people and I spoke up and I was able to do my job and not live in shame or fear.”
Dancing with the Stars Season 32 airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC, streaming live on Disney Plus, and available the next day on Hulu.
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT SHARNA HAD TO SET BOUNDARIES WITH HER PARTNERS? WHO DO YOU THINK SHE IS ALLUDING TO?
