Dancing with the Stars returned to ABC as part of the biggest week of the year for Fall TV premieres, with Season 30 making a big splash for having the long-running series' very first same-sex coupling with JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson. But ahead of the new season's second episode, DWTS is making different kinds of headlines now that mainstay pro Cheryl Burke has revealed she'll be out for at least the next two performances after testing positive for COVID-19.
While she'd no doubt much rather share behind-the-scenes posts from her practice runs with show partner Cody Rigsby, Cheryl Burke shared a before-and-after video on her Instagram page on Sunday in which she got emotional in revealing the news about her positive diagnosis. In her words:
Okay, guys, so I have really bad news. I am positive, which means I have COVID. And I just got the news now and I've been anticipating, just waiting around since seven o'clock this morning. It's 4:07 p.m. here in L.A. and I've been feeling progressively worse. But yeah, the PCR test came back, and it came back positive, and I just feel so bad. [Begins to cry.] I feel so bad for Cody, I feel like I'm letting him down. I just feel like shit to be quite honest, and it's so overwhelming because it's Sunday, and the show is tomorrow.
Cheryl Burke revealed that she was feeling pretty under the weather, and the part of the video recorded prior to her taking the COVID test made it seem like she was already expecting bad news from it. Unfortunately, those expectations were met in full, and fans will have to wait and see if Burke will make it back to Dancing with the Stars after recovering, which will obviously come down to how well her TV partner Cody Rigsby is with whichever dancing pro steps in to replace Burke.
During the Season 30 premiere, Cheryl Burke and Cody Rigsby didn't completely blow the judges away, but they were far from being the worst performance of the night, as that distinction easily went to Cobra Kai's Martin Kove and resident pro Britt Stewart. Burke and Rigsby earned a score of 24 for their tango, which put them tied with three other couplings in the bottom half.
To be expected, many of Cheryl Burke's fellow Dancing with the Stars pros commented on her post with kind and hopeful messages, from Alan Bersten to Emma Slater to Peta Murgatroyd to the aforementioned Jenna Johnson (who injured her knee during her first performance). Even former DWTS competitor and political lightning rod Sean Spicer shared some heart emojis. You can watch the full video post below.
Here's hoping Cheryl Burke gets back to feeling healthy again sooner rather than later, and that she'll feel strong enough to be able to compete again in 2021. In the meantime, Dancing with the Stars airs Monday nights on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET.
