Alix Earle’s stepmother Ashley Dupre apologized to Cheryl Burke after receiving backlash for dissing Ozempic.
“I just wanted to jump on here and apologize for making an insensitive comment,” Dupre, who is married to Alix’s father, Thomas “TJ” Earle, began a TikTok video Friday.
“With so much competition, my stepmom instincts have taken over me. I have never wanted to make anyone feel uncomfortable. In fact, I try to do the opposite,” the 40-year-old continued.
“I always try to uplift others, and if you follow me, you know that, but that’s how we raise our kids. I’m disappointed that my actions didn’t reflect that.”
Her apology comes just one day after Burke, 41, also took to TikTok to defend herself against Dupre’s “body shaming.”
Without directly naming Mr. Dupre, the “Dancing with the Stars” alum scolded people who “think it’s okay to be body shamed, especially in front of children,” arguing that it “sends a powerful message about what you value, and clearly that’s not kindness.”
Burke added: “You don’t have to agree with my criticisms, but you do need to be aware of the impact your words have on the next generation looking at you. If that’s what you want to set an example for, please don’t mention my name.”
Fans quickly realized that the two-time Mirror Ball winner made the video in direct response to Dupre, who told her via TikTok to “go get more Ozempics” after she was dissatisfied with being a guest judge on Tuesday’s “Halloween Night” episode of DWTS.
Burke gave Earle and pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy nine points, while Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Huff gave them a perfect 10.
When one of the young children questioned this statement, Dupre doubled down and said, “She looks weird. She doesn’t look like that.”
In the comments section, some users accused Dupre of “bullying” Burke, with one user writing: “That obscene comment was so unnecessary.”
Burke has already been the victim of body shaming and hate comments since she unveiled her dramatic transformation in May. Critics claimed that she may be “sick” but looks “unrecognizable”.
The choreographer had to deal with trolls head-on in a candid TikTok video later that month after she was pelted with “shocking and harmful” bullets by what she described as a “firing squad.”
“I’m not participating in Ozempic. I’m not sick,” she clarified. “I didn’t get a face transplant, I didn’t get an eyebrow lift.
“What’s going on and the level of projection that I’m witnessing is tremendous,” Burke continued, slamming those who hate gossiping about her as if she’s not a “person” and comparing her current appearance to her younger self.
“I hate to say it, but Cheryl no longer exists,” she declared. “Assuming is really exhausting.”
