Louis Van Amstel, Cheryl Burke Shed Explain Lacey Schwimmer Body-Shaming Issue
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Louis Van Amstel is reiterating that he has not body-shamed Cheryl Burke or Lacey Schwimmer ever. The choreographer set the record straight about the issue during his appearance on Burke’s Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast.
Louis Van Amstel Explained How Media Twisted His Words to Make Juicy Headline
Recalling what transpired last month, Burke clarified that her intention wasn’t to bash Amstel or Maks Chmerkovskiy. Rather, her sole purpose was to “discuss body image and body shaming in a type of society” that professional dancers live in. Then, Amstel claimed that journalist Monica Rizzo twisted his words in 2008 for an interesting but untrue material.
“I’m going to say it again on record. I never ever even mentioned your name or Lacey’s name when I did an interview with Monica Rizzo,” he said. “They all took it from someone else. And once the ball is rolling, the snowball gets bigger and bigger really fast, especially if it’s juicy.”
@cherylburkeofficial Thank you to Louis for coming on the pod to discuss a very important issue on body image and body shaming. Listen NOW for FREE on @Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts. *Link in bio . . . #bodyshaming #bodyimage #bodypositivity #selflove #beauty #fyp #sexliesandspraytans #newpodcast #podcast #newepisode ♬ original sound – Cheryl Burke
Amstel went on to state that Rizzo has nonetheless apologized to him after his interview. Nonetheless, the journalist allegedly told him that her editor pressured him to write the news story. The DWTS pro then stated that it was enough for him that Rizzo is using the experience as a professor at UCLA.
“She is using that situation for future journalists to say, don’t ever sell your soul to the devil, keep your integrity as a journalist. And I appreciate that she did that, but ultimately, I never said it. I never would, and I would always defend people that are body-shamed,” he said.
Amstel first addressed the situation in a video posted on Instagram, where he insisted that he never spoke about Burke’s and Schwimmer’s weight. He also stated that while he has never really connected with the two ladies, he loves them and would never try to shame them.
He Wants to Be the 4th Judge on Dancing With The Stars
Elsewhere in the podcast, Amstel also expressed his desire to serve as a judge on DWTS. The choreographer then stated that the show needs to bring back its regular four-member panel. After Len Goodman’s passing, ABC and Disney+ agreed to have three judges, recurring Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough.
“I truly hope, and I have a feeling you would want the same. I would like a fourth seat, I would like them to go back to four. I’m kind of being selfish here. I would like to be a judge and the show knows it,” he said.
Amstel went on and stated how he thinks he’ll be perfect for the role such as having the most experience in choreography, having done his own Broadway show and training most of the pros DWTS.
“I’ve done many shows with Julie [Fryer], with Karina [Smirnoff], with Joanna Leunis, that for the world superstars are not your typical ballroom. So there’s so many sides that I would like to talk about,” he said.
While Amstel was honest in wanting more from DWTS, he stated that he’ll always be grateful to ABC. Confessing his love for the dancing competition show, he claimed that his career wouldn’t be as booming if not because of the network.
