Jesse Metcalfe has responded to Sharna Burgess' shocking claims he was "difficult" and she didn't want to be alone with him during their Dancing with the Stars partnership in 2020.
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"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," the actor's representative alleged.
"Vague insinuations are not only reckless but also irrelevant."
On behalf of Jesse, his representative also accused Sharna, 38, of being "highly unprofessional."
Sharna touched upon her unhealthy dynamic with Jesse as part of her explanation as to why she had a "rocky" five years on Dancing with the Stars, which she apparently believes contributed to DWTS producers not asking her back for Season 32 this fall.
On September 13, Good Morning America officially announced the entire cast of 14 celebrities and their professional partners who will compete on Dancing with the Stars' upcoming 32nd season, and Sharna was noticeably left off the list, which she admitted she is "in shock" about.
"My last five years on the show have been rocky -- not because of the show. I love the show deeply, but we had a new executive producer come in, I think five years ago now. I had just won [Season 27] with Bobby Bones [in 2018] and he decided to not bring me back," Sharna said on the first episode of her new "Oldish" podcast, which was released on Monday, September 11.
"There's a lot of speculation as to why," she added.
Sharna pointed out how her win with Bobby, who was constantly criticized for his poor technique, was probably "the most explosive end" and the "most controversial" victory in Dancing with the Stars history.
"I got caught up in this whirlwind of hate for that win, which was really yucky. And so I went into this space of self-blame when I wasn't asked back [for Season 28]. I thought, 'This was my fault. What did I do?' But I worked through that, and that was good. And they had me back the following season," Sharna noted.
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When the pro dancer returned for Season 29, Sharna said she had a "really difficult" partner.
While Sharna didn't identify Jesse by name, she was clearly speaking about him based on her timeline of events.
"I had a partner that was really difficult -- and to not say too much, because I don't want to, but I wasn't able to be in the room alone with him after the first couple of weeks because of things that happened," Sharna claimed.
"So that was rocky," she continued, "and we were eliminated very quickly."
As Dancing with the Stars fans probably recall, Sharna and Jesse were eliminated in Week 4 of the competition.
Shortly after Sharna's digs at Jesse made headlines earlier this week, Jesse's representative initially told People in a short statement, "There is really no story here. Jesse is a gentleman and prefers to take the high road."
On her podcast, Sharna went on to explain how her "rocky" years on Dancing with the Stars also included her partnership with boyfriend Brian Austen Green on Season 30 in 2021.
Sharna admitted that she didn't appreciate how the couple's relationship was portrayed.
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"Hearing from people around they were genuinely just trying to have this spotlight on our relationship and not his neurological stuff, not his experience, not working through this together -- but to almost just say our relationship was the issue with the dancing in some way."
Sharna recalled voicing her frustrations to someone in power, presumably a producer of the show.
"I did text someone at that time and was like, 'Hey, this isn't what we signed up for. If this is what you want from us, you just have to eliminate us, because we can't do this.' And we were quickly eliminated after that," Sharna noted.
Sharna then turned down the chance to compete on Dancing with the Stars' 31st season in Fall 2022 because her first child, a son named Zane, was born just a few months earlier in June 2022.
"[I told Dancing with the Stars] -- it was always, 'I want to come back next year,' and they were like, 'Of course, we love you, we'll always have you,'" Sharna claimed on her "Oldish" podcast.
But Sharna never got the casting phone call for Season 32, and so she admitted, "It was such a shock and because I wasn't expecting it, it was tough."
In fact, Sharna said she's "really sad" and "heartbroken" not to be participating in the new season.
"I don't know if that means I'll ever get to do it again. [I hate] to be feeling that uncertainty of, 'Wow, is this part of my journey over now? Where does it go from here?'" Sharna lamented.
Sharna, however, pointed out how she's "excited to have the space" to take on other projects and that the universe probably handed her these cards "for a reason."
Dancing with the Stars is set to premiere with a live two-hour episode on Tuesday, September 26 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.
The pro partners competing on Season 32 of DWTS are Brandon Armstrong, Rylee Arnold, Alan Bersten, Artem Chigvintsev, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Koko Iwasaki, Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Peta Murgatroyd, Pasha Pashkov, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater, and Britt Stewart.
Dancing with the Stars will hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and co-hosted by Julianne Hough.
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The judging panel will be comprised of Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough.
"I think we've got one of the hottest, most epic seasons ever," Alfonso teased on Wednesday's episode of Good Morning America.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
