Cheryl Burke Hated 'Dancing' With Ian Ziering But Apologizes for Suicide Reference
Former "Dancing With the Stars" pro dancer Cheryl Burke doesn't seem to be sorry for saying that "90210" alum Ian Ziering was her least favorite partner. However, she's sorry that she used the phrase "slit my wrists" to describe just how much she could not stand him.
Burke is going to be on the podcast "Allegedly" with Theo Von and Matt Weiss, and an excerpt was shared with TMZ, then across the web. People covered it with the headline "Cheryl Burke Says Ian Ziering Was Her 'Least Favorite' Partner on DWTS: 'Made Me Want to Slit My Wrists'"
In the podcast, Burke said working with Ziering on DWTS Season 4 in 2007 "made me want to slit my wrists." She added, "The fact that his name's not [pronounced] 'EEE-an' and it's 'EYE-an' makes me want to throw up." The hosts noted that Ziering seemed "very intense" during his later stint on "The Celebrity Apprentice." Burke said, "That's the true colors that they didn't show on 'Dancing with the Stars.' Think of spending time with that for like 8-10 hours a day, seven days a week, for three months." She said she even cried to the DWTS executives, begging, "Is there any way to force us, to just like eliminate us?'"
It's a pretty candid admission, but since she's not on DWTS anymore maybe she felt she was finally free to go ahead and spill those beans.
After the excerpt started making the rounds, Burke took to Twitter to apologize ... although not quite to Ziering:
"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. I have many friends and family members that struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide. 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."
For THAT she apologizes. But her distaste for Ian Ziering, after 18 seasons on DWTS and two trophies? That stands. Sorry, Steve Sanders. Meanwhile, Ian Ziering has yet to react to the insults. His last tweet, on April 16, was directed to "90210" fans.
DWTS Season 22, Week 5 airs tonight (4/18) at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC.
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