Cheryl Burke Says “Bachelorette” Producers Claimed Chris Harrison Vetoed Her and Called Her a 'Sloppy Drunk'

The former 'Dancing with the Stars' pro claimed that she was told Harrison "blocked" her from being cast on the ABC dating show before getting sober

Cheryl Burke and Chris Harrison are setting the record straight on why she never became the lead of The Bachelorette.

On the latest episode of The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever with Chris Harrison, the former Dancing with the Stars pro, 39, claimed that she was told that Harrison put the kibosh on her being cast on the ABC dating series.

“I heard you blocked that,” she told the 52-year-old television host, who exited the franchise in June 2021. “Did you not?”

“No. They put that on me,” he replied. “Yeah, like I have that much power, like I have the power to decide who the Bachelor [or] Bachelorette is.”

Related: Cheryl Burke on 'Starting Over' as an Adult 'Trauma Survivor' Who's Divorced, Sober and Retired

“No, I’m not kidding… I think they blamed it on you, absolutely,” she added.

ABC did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.

After discussing Burke being five years sober, she added that executives allegedly told her she “didn’t get to do the Bachelorette because Chris Harrison said ‘that you're a sloppy drunk.’”

“That's so funny,” he responded before detailing how he weighed in casting for the series.

Related: Cheryl Burke 'Very Proud' of Her Sobriety Journey, Hopes to Be Sober the 'Rest of My Life'

“They, in public, would never give me that kind of power to decide who the Bachelor [or]  Bachelorette is,” he explained. “I mean [creator] Mike [Fleiss] would ask me or you know, or somebody would ask like, ‘Hey, like, what do you think about Emily Maynard? What do you think about Jason Mesnick or whatever?' And I give my two cents.”

“There's a lot of bachelors and this is why I know it's not true,” he continued. “There's a lot of Bachelors and Bachelorettes and I won't say anybody specific that I didn't think [would be work]. Well, I will give you one, Sean Lowe, because he turned out to be a good friend and he's great.”

Burke chimed in, “And he’s still married” and Harrison added, “He's our only success story. They really hang their hat on Sean Lowe.”

Related: Cheryl Burke Wants to Be 'The Bachelorette'

Long before her three-year marriage to Matthew Lawrence ended in divorce, Burke was interested in handing out roses on the dating series.

“My dating record hasn’t been great the past couple of years so if I have a chance to go on [The Bachelorette] I will,” Burke told PEOPLE in 2012. “I’m getting old, you know, so it’s something of interest to me.”

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“It would be fun to have a pool of guys around you and getting to know someone,” she said. “I think if I had people setting me up with different guys I think it would be easier for me to meet someone to date.”

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