by Reena Daruwalla, guest writer for Nancy Hayssen.com

She is talented, beautiful, can dance like a dream, she’s a star, etc, etc, but all the focus right now is on the fact that she put on some weight! Referred to blogs as ‘Porky’, as ‘fatty’ and as having ‘packed on the pounds’, it seems crazy that here is Dancing With the Stars champion Cheryl Burke, and all that people seem to notice about her is that she is carrying some more weight than before! As one blog put it, rather rudely and somewhat inaccurately, “You’re getting paid to stay in shape, so put down the damn donut and hit the treadmill.”, hmmm, so she is not being paid to dance then; I must have got the wrong idea there? In any case what does ‘in shape’ mean? That’s a whole other question for a whole other day!

What is interesting though, is the ground swell of support that seems to be evident for the dancing star, both from celebrities as well as from the average TV viewing public. Co star on the show Brooke Burke has defended the dancer saying, “I think she is sexy and voluptuous. I have always loved her body as feminine…. The most important thing [is that] a woman should feel good whatever size she is and I think she looks hot.”

Not only have her co stars on the show and friends come out in support of her, Cheryl Burke also received support from Jennifer Love Hewitt who said “It’s so silly, we’re still human beings and we have feelings and I think people should take better consideration of that when they are speaking of others,… And life is life, Cheryl is a beautiful girl and an incredible dancer and that’s what she’s paid to do and that’s what people should be paying attention to.”

Another blogger took a self deprecating dig at herself, saying that if Sheryl was fat, then she was elephantine! The ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures posted on the blog illustrate the fact that this controversy is a real storm in a thimble (not even a teacup!)

Luckily the dancer herself has tried not to let all the negativity and criticism get to her, by saying “Look, I’m not Hollywood. I am not a model, OK? And I don’t want to be a size 0. This is my body, I feel comfortable in it and I love it. And I want other women out there to love themselves as well.” Now that’s sending out a positive message!