Brian Austin Green is coming to the defense of his fiancee Sharna Burgess after she was left out on Tuesday Dancing with the stars a tribute to the late Chief Justice Len Goodman.
On Wednesday, Beverly Hills, 90210 star, 50, expressed his disappointment with Burgess’ former co-workers for not calling her absence from the tribute, which saw returning pros Maks Chmerkovskiy, Kym Johnson-Herjavec, Tony Dovolani, Karina Smirnoff, Anna Trebunskaya, Edyta Śliwińska, Louis van Amstel and Mark Ballas.
“I can’t tell you how disappointed I was that @sharnaburgess wasn’t invited to the party last night,” he wrote on Instagram. “It’s also disappointing that none of her ‘ballroom family’ have stood up for her and spoken out.”
“She is an amazing soul and has always been a friend to everyone,” he continued. “She deserved better. #familysticktogether”
Dancing with the stars’ Former pros return to the hall for an emotional tribute to the late judge Len Goodman
Green also addressed the absence of fellow pro Cheryl Burke in the caption of his post, saying Burke, 39, should also have been invited to celebrate alongside Burgess, 38.
“She wasn’t even invited to sit in the stands and watch. Shame on that group of people. Kindness is action, so love @cherylburke should have been there too,” he wrote.
On her own Instagram Story posted earlier in the day, Burgess addressed the news, writing via a selfie: “My man saw me (again) really upset about a show I love. Last night was tough and he listened to me share my heart . I haven’t publicly commented on the recognition for several reasons. First of all… I know it’s not about me. It’s about Leno and the honor he deserved.”
Instagram Story by Sharna Burgess.
Sharna Burgess/ Instagram
She continued: “Secondly, this hurt more than not getting called back and I’m working on it. Thirdly, sharing my feelings here often comes across as a few negative people who believe I didn’t deserve to be there anyway. So why open myself up to that? But, my a man who loves me deeply and listened to me share and cry had enough and shared his frustration. He, like me, just didn’t understand why. I love him even for wanting to defend me even though he shouldn’t. I would have done the same. No doubts that we fight the most for those we love when we tend to accept everything that is thrown at us in our own lives.”
Burgess concluded: “The tribute was amazing and I cried watching it. Tears of celebration and joy and gratitude for how much Len has done for the ballroom and for all of our careers. The performance was perfect, classic and technically brilliant. Val and Jenna created magic and Leno would absolutely love it. Remember that 2 things can be true. I can love and support the show, feel joy for those who were there and also feel sadness that I wasn’t there.”
ABC did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Cheryl Burke attends the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on September 22, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
David Becker/Getty for iHeartRadio
Green’s comments came after current and returning professional dancers performed an emotional tribute to Goodman, who died at age 78 in April 2023, to Henry Mancini’s “Moon River” on Tuesday’s episode of the show Dance with the Stars.
The performance included a video tribute with professionals discussing Goodman’s influence before ending with a look back at Goodman’s former chair at the judge’s table. The audience then stood up and applauded, and the other professionals and judges burst into tears.
Cheryl Burke says she ‘wasn’t invited’ to return to Len Goodman Tribute on Dancing with the stars
Before the show, Burke claimed she was not asked to return to the ballroom for a special performance.
“For those of you asking if I’ll be a part of the Len Goodman tribute next week on DWTS, unfortunately I wasn’t invited, but I’ll be there in spirit and can’t wait to cheer on my former co-stars! ” she wrote on Threads. “Sending love and light to everyone. 🤍🙏🏼 #riplen”
Despite this, Burke decided to honor Goodman in yet another way, choosing to share a sweet post on Instagram on Tuesday.
“MR. Len Goodman. Thank you for being the face of ballroom dancing and for always standing up for what’s right no matter what,” she wrote in part. “You’re such a big part of why Dancing with the Stars is such a huge hit as the premise of teaching celebrities how to dance hall, and the word ‘Balkan hall’ before the word ‘dance’ was all because of your decades worth of knowledge and experience.”
She went on to praise his “tough love and no-BS approach” and shared that Goodman’s “respect for the art and sport of ballroom dance showed me and millions of people how much you really care.”
Sharna Burgess admits she was ‘shocked’ not asked back for ‘Dancing with the Stars’ season 32
Burgess previously spoke about the disappointment she felt when she was not invited to participate in the final season DWTS.
During an episode of her iHeart Radio podcast Elderlythe professional dancer explained how she took a temporary sabbatical last year after having a baby and expected to return to the series.
“I was supposed to come back last season, but Zane was only eight weeks old… I felt like I should be sitting in motherhood with Zane,” she told Green. “It was always ‘I want to come back next year’ and ‘Sure, we love you, we’ll always have you.'”
According to DWTS Pro, she found out she wasn’t going to get an invite when her colleagues started getting calls to come back and her phone went silent.
“Because it was such a shock, because I didn’t expect it, it was hard,” Burgess admitted before mentioning the time she wasn’t asked to come back for Season 27. “It’s not the first time. My last five years on the show were tough – not because of the show.”
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Dancing with the stars airs Tuesdays at 8:00 PM ET on ABC and Disney+.
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