Sharna Burgess Clarifies Her Tension with Jesse Metcalfe from 'Dancing with the Stars'
Sharna Burgess has explained further her comments about her Dancing with the Stars partnership with Jesse Metcalfe. Two weeks ago, on her newiHeart radio podcast "Old-ish," the professional dancer talked through her history on the Emmy-winning program. That included her time with Metcalfe on season 29, which was far from rosy.
"They had me back the following season, and I had a partner that was really difficult," she said. "And not say too much because I don’t want to, [but] I wasn’t able to be in the room alone with him after the first couple of weeks because of things that happened. That was rocky, and we were eliminated very quickly."
Though left purposely vague, the comment started a firestorm of speculation. Metcalfe's representative even issues a response, telling TVLine, "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."
Burgess further clarified their history while appearing on the "Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans" podcast with fellow DWTS pro Cheryl Burke. When Burke brought up the comment she had made, Burgess responded, "This was [during] COVID and we didn’t have everyone watching all the cameras all the time. We were scaling back on our crew. Some rehearsals weren’t watched or recorded. That was a difficult situation for me. I went through the proper channels, and, unfortunately I wasn’t able to record everything. But I was able to record some things, and I did go to the proper people, and there were reports made, and I was taken care of.”
Burgess went on to say that the situation she had with Metcalfe "was not sexual in any nature." However, it was very clear she was made uncomfortable by their partnership. Burke took the time to laud praise on her for speaking up in that moment, rather that simply dealing with it as a part of the job. Burgess thanked her in response.
"I did the right thing," she went on to say, "and I went to the right people, and I spoke up. I was able to do my job and not live in shame or fear."
Next, here's everything you need to know about season 32 of Dancing with the Stars.
