Sharna Burgess: Jesse Metcalfe ‘hasn’t reached out’ since feud
Sharna Burgess is ready to put her Jesse Metcalfe feud to bed. The “Old·ish” podcast co-host revealed that the actor was “really difficult” to work with when they were partnered during Season 29 of “Dancing With the Stars.”
“He hasn’t reached out to me. And I did see his team’s, you know, very big response to the article. And listen, those are his words that he chose. And I have shared what I needed to share,” Burgess, 38, tells The Post. “It wasn’t about having to dive back into that story that was handled at the time, the way that it was meant to be handled there. It was handled with the legal team and ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ I was very open and transparent at the time with what was going on and I have no need to rehash it.”
Burgess and the “John Tucker Must Die” star, 44, were eliminated in week four of the ABC dancing competition.
“They had me back the following season and I had a partner that was really difficult — and not say too much because I don’t want to. I wasn’t able to be in the room alone with him after the first couple of weeks because of things that happened,” Burgess said during an episode of her “Old-ish” podcast alongside fiancé Brian Austin Green and fellow co-host Randy Spelling.
She added, “That was rocky and we were eliminated very quickly.”
Metcalfe slammed Burgess’ comments through his rep. “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,” his rep said in a statement earlier this month. “Vague insinuations are not only reckless but also irrelevant.”
Season 32 of “Dancing With the Stars” is set to premiere Tuesday, but Burgess won’t be hitting the ballroom this time around. She said the show didn’t ask her back.
“Peta [Murgatroyd] and I were so excited to do a season together because it had been a year or two since we’d done that. But of course she’s sad that I’m not there. But she’s now busy and in flow with what she’s doing and we check in with each other and she’s doing amazing. I love her partner [Barry Williams], by the way. He’s just so wonderful,” she told The Post of her best friend.
“I don’t know why they didn’t have me. There’s never really an answer given, but that is also the business. You don’t necessarily get given a reason. It just sort of happens and it doesn’t change how much I love the show. I will always love that show. I grew up on that show and it is so much a part of me and I love what the show is now. Having Conrad Green back and the experience of it is once again such a beautiful thing for the pro dancers and the celebrities,” she continued. “So if they ever asked me again, I would for sure say yes, because they are my family. Those dancers that cast, that crew, they mean the world to me. So two things can be true. Deeply disappointed and sad that I didn’t get the call, but still deeply in love with the show and what it is and want to support it and be a part of it.”
As of last week, “DWTS” was still moving forward amid the Writers Guild of America strike. Amid the news, celeb contestant Matt Walsh paused from the show until an agreement was made with the WGA.
“I was excited to join the show and did so under the impression that it was not a WGA show and fell under a different agreement,” he told Deadline in a statement, noting he walked out of rehearsals once he learned more about it.
“It’s a really hard situation,” Burgess told The Post about the situation. “I can understand why the show wants to move forward. There’s like 500 employees and everyone wants it, wants to and needs to make money. But I also understand the need to stand in solidarity with the WGA and with SAG and what’s going on and for us to create real change. What that requires, I don’t know where I sit with that. It’s such a hard thing. I totally know why they want to go ahead. And I know I also understand why they shouldn’t. I think for the people that are on that show that are SAG, Matt Walsh — even some of the actors and other people on the show — it must be a really difficult situation they’re in. I’m sure they feel so much anxiety with it now and not knowing what.”
On Sunday, the Writers Guild of America officially reached a tentative deal with film and TV studios that would end a nearly five-month strike and get Hollywood rolling again.
“Dancing With the Stars’ Season 32 premieres Tuesday on ABC and Disney+.
“Old·ish” can be found on the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
