Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Breakups Cheryl Burke Defends Previous DWTS Comments She Made on Amy & T.J. Podcast: ‘You Can’t Run Away from Your Past’ "I think that with some people, talking about the past means you're not over things, and that is just not true in my world," Burke shared By Kimberlee Speakman Kimberlee Speakman Kimberlee Speakman is a digital writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared in Forbes and she has also worked in broadcast television as a reporter for Hawaii-based news station KHON2 News. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 30, 2024 09:07AM EDT Close Cheryl Burke. Photo: Monica Schipper/Getty Cheryl Burke is clearing the air about her past comments on Dancing with the Stars. Earlier this month, the professional dancer, 39, spoke out about how hard it was to leave the popular reality dance competition in 2022 after 26 seasons on the Amy & T.J. podcast. Since then, she's been dealing with the backlash from fans of the show. “I'm human. It still affects me,” Burke said on her Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast in regards to the comments she received. “To say that I don't look at the comments would be a lie. And to say that I don't focus on [the negative ones], it would also be a lie.” She went on to say that opening up about her DWTS past was cathartic to her and “part of” her work to “stay sober.” She also denied that she had any ill will or bitterness toward the series that launched her into the spotlight, noting, “If I were bitter, I'd be silent.” Cheryl Burke (front) and AJ McLean on Dancing with the Stars in 2020. Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Cheryl Burke Recalls Once Believing She Was Too Fat for TV During Dancing with the Stars Days “I think that with some people, talking about the past means you're not over things, and that is just not true in my world,” the dancer explained. “Like for me, talking about it is me trying to let go of it, like in real time, like, you cannot run." She continued, “I know one pro said, ‘Why does she want to talk about the past?’ Well, sorry, breaking news, hate to break it to you. Every interview that anyone does is about your past, so like, right, you can't run away from your past." Cheryl Burke Spills on the Number of Dancing With the Stars Showmances She's Had — and Reveals 1 By Name! Burke noted that she “can’t control” what people say about her, but she hoped that people would be “kind with their words” in the future. She also shared that despite everything, she only has love for the series. “I will always be Dancing with the Stars’ number one fan. That's never going to go away,” she admitted. “Regardless of any, whatever you want to call it — disagreements, turmoil, whatever — there always will be love for me, at least from me to Dancing with the Stars.” The comments come after the former DWTS pro discussed why she wasn't invited back for the tribute to the show’s late head judge Len Goodman while she was on the April 16th episode of the Amy & T.J. podcast. Burke said at the time that she assumed it was because “some people may not be happy with my podcast that I have here with iHeart.” Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. She was also asked on the podcast whether she felt like she was still a part of the DWTS family, to which she replied, "Definitely not." "It's so personal, and people can separate the two. I'm like, 'Are you a sociopath?' Because I don't get it. I don't know how you do that," she said. "I don't know how you separate it because for me as an artist, dance is so vulnerable, you know, like literally so vulnerable, like Naked and Afraid."