Sharna Burgess Says Two of Her 'DWTS' Celeb Partners Left Her Feeling 'Uncomfortable'

Dancing With the Stars pro Sharna Burgess is opening up about standing up for herself even in the ballroom. The pro dancer revealed she's had two partners who made her feel "very, very uncomfortable" during an appearance on fellow Dancing With the Stars alum Cheryl Burke's podcast, Sex, Lies & Spray Tans.

"I have in the past had two partners that made me feel very, very uncomfortable," Burgess revealed on the podcast. "At the time I was much younger and I would laugh it up and suck it up and I would make it okay." Burgess went on to explain that the one partner wouldn't stop being flirty around her, even though she wouldn't reciprocate, growing frustrated that she didn't return his advances. The Australian native revealed that she did tell a producer about her situation, but they told her to play along, responding simply, "You know what men are like."

"This is going back years and years," Burgess continued. "This was pre-Me Too." Since that experience, Burgess has taken care to "set up boundaries" that allow her to feel more comfortable with her celebrity partners. "I learned during and after Me Too, women coming forward and saying, from the big to the little things, I was like holy s- that happened to me, I didn't even realize that I could speak up about it." 

The Mirrorball winner has had to stand up for herself more recently as well. "I had a situation with a partner where it got to the point where we couldn't be alone in a room without people watching," she revealed. While it was a "difficult situation" for her, Burgess said she "went through the proper channels," although she "unfortunately" wasn't able to record "everything" that happened. "I was able to record some things and I did do the proper things and there were reports made and I was taken care of," she continued.

Burgess clarified that the uncomfortable situation "was not sexual in any nature," with Burke chiming in to add that "at the end of the day, no need to explain. You were uncomfortable, that's a complete sentence." Burgess agreed, "I did the right thing and I went to the right people and I spoke up and I was able to do my job and not live in shame or fear."