Alix Earle’s stepmom, Ashley Earle, is reigning it in after facing backlash for her comments about guest judge Cheryl Burke on Dancing With the Stars.
In a TikTok shared on Tuesday, November 4, Ashley (née Dupré) sat on a couch with husband Thomas Earle and the couple’s three children. As Alix, 24, received a combined score of 39 out of 40 from judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli and guest judge Flavor Flav, the family all cheered.
“See, I can behave,” Ashley captioned the upload. “So proud of our girl! Go Al & Val!”
“Omg miss u guys,” Alix wrote in the comments section, while partner Val Chmerkovskiy added, “Soooooo fun. Miss my Earle’s ❤.”
Ashley’s video came one week after she made headlines for telling Burke to “go take more Ozempic” after Alix nearly received a perfect score for her Halloween Night dance. Ashley went on to apologize for the comment she made toward Burke, who has repeatedly denied taking the weight loss drug.
“I just wanted to jump on here and apologize for making comments that were insensitive in the heat of the competition,” she shared in a TikTok video on Friday, October 31. “My step-motherly instincts got the better of me. Never ever do I want to make another person feel bad.”
Ashley continued, “In fact, I try to do the opposite and I always try to pick others up. If you follow me, you know that about me, I hope. And that’s how we raised our children. I’m sorry that my actions did not reflect that. I hope everyone has a great Halloween.”
Burke, meanwhile, reflected on her short stint behind the judges table in a video of her own — and noted that the “aggressive” reaction to her critiques, including “body-shaming,” was not OK.
“I know that I did the best that I could with the information that I had and with what I saw in real time,” Burke said. “For the people who think body-shaming is OK, especially in front of your children, that sends a powerful message about what you value. And clearly it’s not kindness.”
She continued, “I was simply again, doing my job as a judge, giving feedback based on almost 20 years of my life, and if my score was different from the other judges, it was by one point. I have dedicated my whole life towards being a competitor of ballroom dancing.”
In the comments section of Burke’s post, Alix praised the former pro for her feedback. “I really appreciated your critiques and feedback so helpful for me as someone in the competition,” Alix wrote. “Thank you.”
After the controversy, Alix’s scores during the Tuesday episode have continued to raise eyebrows. Following a jaw-dropping paso doble to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” Alix and Chmerkovskiy earned a near-perfect score — narrowly missing when Flav, 66, gave the couple a 9.
Flav, for his part, hinted via social media that he intended to give Alix a 10.
“As a judge on #DWTS,,, you hit your score on a computer first,,, then hold up the sign,” Flav, 66, shared via X on Tuesday. “I accidentally hit 9 for someone and told the crew I meant to hit 10,,, and they said they can’t change it and there’s nothing I can do. That girl deserved perfect 10s.”
Despite the potential snafu, Alix gushed to Us that she was “so ecstatic” with her scores.
“We really worked very hard this week on this dance and it just felt so rewarding and great to get those scores,” she said during an exclusive interview on Tuesday. “It still feels like a crazy ‘pinch me’ moment that I’m able to come on here, do this show and then to get amazing scores like that.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET, with new episodes streaming the next day on Hulu.
Prove your DWTS fandom with Luxury Handbag Shopping and Bracketology.tv! Compete against other fans and Us editors in the Bracketology DWTS fantasy league this season to predict which pairs will make it to the finale for season 34. Get access to exclusive content, stats and a chance to win prizes. Join the league for free today!
