“I gave you the whole m***** thing” Cheryl Burke
Yes, Cheryl, you did!
Cheryl Burke (click to see video*), Dancing with the Stars dancer/actress, apparently doesn’t know a slur when used.
Once, okay, you made a mistake.
Twice, you just don’t know any better.
Three +, well, your TRYING to be offensive.
Yeah, I think it warrants a complaint to ABC.
On June 29, 2008, the television show TMZ did an interview with Cheryl Burke in which she was openly using a phrase many consider offensive. The term “Midget” is typically used to refer to a person of short stature or with dwarfism. I am a mother to a son with a form of dwarfism. Your viewing audience consists of many different types of people, including those with disabilities, such as dwarfism. Please educate yourselves and visit my website http://blogsmonroe.com/disability
As a representative of Dancing with the Stars- Cheryl Burke displayed offensive and deplorable comments during her interview. If she is so willing to throw slurs around when they are directed at people with a disability, your network is responsible because she is employed by you. She is a face for ABC and if that is who you want representing you, people need to take notice as to your representation and stop watching ABC.
They only allowed you like 500 words or something to get what you needed to say out. I had to send two emails. Did I get my point across or is it not clear that the M word is offensive. UGH!
And people like that have amazing careers. So sad!
Okay, climbing off the soapbox now….
*This video aired June 29, 2008 on the show TMZ.
Loading ...
This post has 19 comments
June 30th, 2008
I dont see it offensive at all.I go everywhere and so often i do hear that word.M***** means little people,and shes talking about those little/short people….Dont see anything wrong with that??Am i missing anything??
I even use the word a lot of times myself and even hear it from some of the people i know,didnt know it is that bad for some people like you.I dont think it is a slur at all in my opinion.
June 30th, 2008
It’s a good thing we are all entitled to our opinion!!
June 30th, 2008
It is possible that she didn’t mean it as a negative comment. Nonetheless, the fact that some people are offended, I think she needs to be aware. This is an interesting point. I’ve known people who use that word too and had no idea that it was considered rude by some people. Regardless, I followed your lead Tonya and wrote a quick note to ABC. Doesn’t hurt.
June 30th, 2008
i really dont understand the fuzz about it too.M***** is not discriminating in anyway.Stop digging up some dirt when there is nothing really to it.BTW i think Cheryl Burke is great,talented and great role model for a lot of people nowadays.Ive seen how great she is with so many people helping and doing great charities for her community and a lot of organizations around the US.this incident is unfortunate,she was vulnerable at the time,caught up in a wrong moment and being taken advantage of some sick paparazzis out there.Shes young and likes to have a good time with her friends, a lot of young people do the same thing.Just because her tongue slipped out a little while being out of it,doesnt mean she should be reprimanded for something shes been working so hard for all her life.This girl have done more wonderful things to be judged like this so harshly for one unfortunate moment of her life.I still think shes a wonderful person!
June 30th, 2008
BTW ive seen her gave so much of her money and time even with a tight schedule.And a lot of it are for those people with disabilities.its really unfair for you to say that shes insensitive about them,as i said it was unfortunate.I hope you can hold your judgement of her specially when shes obviously not in her full capacity to give a good remarks and opinion.Give the girl a Break!
June 30th, 2008
Yep, she’s an idiot when she’s drunk. The bigger problem as far as I’m concerned, tho? She picked a dwarf’s sex video as the grossest celebrity makeout that she’d ever seen. That’s far more offensive to me! Of course, Verne Troyer (god bless him for having a well-paying career) does a lot of things that make me uncomfortable as far as his portrayal of a person with dwarfism – I hope I never see my daughter getting kicked around or treated like an infant because she’s small…
And yes, Riza, midget is offensive, despite the fact that it can be defined as a little person. Is nigger less offensive because it means dark skinned? Usage is what makes a word offensive, not definition.
(Tonya – please feel free to edit anything you’d rather not see posted on your site, including words!)
June 30th, 2008
Lisa- She may not even be aware that the term is considered offensive, there by not even thinking. Now she should know, if someone says something to her.
Tod- Are you an average height person or a person with dwarfism?
She maybe a talent person. I don’t watch the show, so I don’t know. I was watching TMZ last night when they aired the episode. I can clearly hear the photographer “goating” her and I knew what they were trying to lead her too.
TMZ even noted the fact that they were aware that the word could be viewed as offensive.
Cheryl Burke: Dancing with the Slurs
Posted Jun 27th 2008 3:26PM by TMZ Staff
Just because there’s no red light, doesn’t mean the camera isn’t recording — something an overly-partied Cheryl probably wished she knew before calling Verne Troyer the very un-PC term, “midget,” about a hundred times.
It’s about education!
Besides, I don’t know her, never will. She maybe a great shining beacon of hope for those charities you say she donates her time and money too. But as a mother to a child with dwarfism and who maybe called this at some point in his life, I will do the same thing to them as I have done here.
June 30th, 2008
Mike- Thank you for clarifying that for me! You took the words right out of my mouth!
July 1st, 2008
Mike- didnt we all at some point sounding stupid when we are drunk?the fact that you start calling someone so harshly as idiot says more about you than she did saying that word that some of you are protesting about.I do agree with Liza that she probably didnt say it a negative way,she did say it in a more diplomatic way and was just giving an opinion of what has been asked of her to give…,i did not get the feeling that she was cursing or having a problem with those little people,it was clearly just a wrong choice of words,,drunk or not it happens all the time to a lot of people..
And yes the word is so much different from niger referring to black people,that is only because this specific word doesnt only mean dark skin but so as slave.and we are all aware of how not to use that specific word as much as possible.I really dont thinkthe term that being used was that offensive at all,it might be just hard for some people like Tonya to take it the way it did,because of her own child having the said disorder.I can understand where shes coming from.But to say that the girl should be fired from her job is i think a little overboard.I respect of You letting t the network know how you feel about it but to suggest that she should be let go is just a little overreacting imho.Cheryl is one of the classiest and most respectful dancer on the show,im just informing you here knowing you never seen the show.Im sure a little heads up and a reminder will make her be aware of it.trust me ive watched her over this year,and shes not the type of person who would wanna offend anybody in anyway.Again,once in a while we say something we might probably regret of later on but that doesnt mean thats who we really are.
And besides,i dont think its good to rely on some source such as TMZ is it?Their known for stirring up trouble for some celebrities out there just to make money even if that means its bogus.Im not saying she didnt say it,there is the video to prove it but a lot of times they give a bad edit to make it look as it is.BTW im just giving my opinion and not intending to offend anyone and nope i have no dwarfism just trying to understand both sides of the story.
July 1st, 2008
First I should write that I am Tonya’s husband and of course the very proud father of Jacob, Hannah and Knoah. Now that we have gotten that out of the way.
Riza – I am very sorry that you go a lot of places and hear this term. I am glad that you are not offended by it. However, now that you are aware that there are others who are offended would it be too much to ask that you try and inform those around you that may say it that, “hey, did you know that because of the negative stereo type associated with the word some people find it very offensive?”. Hopefully, you will do that.
Lisa – Did she mean it negative? Maybe not but, Mike pointed out she picked that specific video (BTW – I can honestly say I have never seen it) and referred to it as “the midget thing”. Not the video by the guy in Austin Powers or from the VH1 show but, “the midget thing”.
Tod – Thank you for letting everyone know the work that Ms. Burke has done, as my wife and I are not celebrity hounds we honestly did not know and we are glad that she is helping others. That said, your understanding of the word nigger is wrong. The word has nothing to do with slavery. The term negar was used (1619) by John Rolfe to refer to slave ships. However, for much of literary history the terms was not seen as derogaroty but only as descriptive, as you rightly point out, of ones color. However, things change and the group most affected by such a descriptive term has the right to set standards of usage – this may not be fair but it is true. Hence, in the late 1950’s the term began to be seen as derogatory. In this instance the comparable of nigger and midget are appropriate as midget, to many that it is used to describe, are offended by the negative connotation of the word – you know, “the midget thing”.
I have not read that anyone has called for Ms. Burke to be fired from her job or that she should be stoned to death. Yet, I wonder if she had referred to another group in a term that the group largely sees as derogatory would this not have been treated differently? The point is that historically, “midgets” have been viewed as lesser than or that it was alright to degenerate them as carnival displays or the like. Ms. Burke, of course, is not responsible for this but her actions do continue to perpetuate such stereotypes. Sadly, justifying it as “she was drunk” or “she was trying to be diplomatic” or “she really didn’t mean any offense” only entrenches such ignorance. Consider that a couple of years ago Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells called “trick plays”. “jap plays”. He was rightly condemned for such stereotypes and so too should Ms. Burke.
For me, I will “give the girl a break” which is easy because I am not a fan of the show and until this video really had no idea who she was. I will say that, seeing this video and reading some of the comments drive home what Tonya and I face as advocates for Knoah and what the LP community has faced over the years. That, not Ms. Burke’s obvious drunken ignorance, is really sad. One think I do find funny is that while we have focused on Ms. Burke’s use of the word “midget” (for obvious reasons – as this is a blog about parenting an LP) we failed to point out her dismissive attitude regarding Mr. Troyer’s girlfriend (who I assume appears in the video) as some, “wanna be actress”. So, is that not somewhat disrespectful also? But, I am sure she is a wonderful person that does awesome things and meant no ill intent to anyone or anything.
July 1st, 2008
I have been following this discussion and think you have put it really well Will. Being a parent to a little person my heart sinks every time people use words like midget. How can peoples ignorance improve if things arent highlighted. Our children have a tough enough time ahead of them dealing with peoples attitudes so lets keep pointing out want offends people after all the word mongal is rarely used these days to talk about people with down syndrome wouldnt be good to achieve the same with the m word. I have met several families here in the uk who were told that their child would be a dwarf like in the circus at diagnosis. If medical professionals have this attitude what hope is there for the general public but then they are rarely in the public eye making comments that are broadcast to the country and the general public. Celebrities need to take responsibility for what they say and do as they are in the public eye and often form role models rightly or wrongly for all our children. I think it is good you have complained as how can peoples attitudes be changed if society isnt edcucated. Keep up the good work tonya.
July 1st, 2008
I sympathize with you Tonya and Will,i understand the sensitivity on your part.Once more, i dont intend to offend anyone or trying to justify her action.I just happened to have known Cheryl and followed her career for a while now.And i know she is not the type of person who would want to hurt anyone’s feelings in such manner.Like i said its unfortunate , but im just hoping that you dont pass your judgement too quickly on her.As a fan of her, it makes me sad to see all of so many wonderful things shes done for so many people are being tarnished by one unfortunate event like this.At some point, we all make mistakes or say the wrong things but up to this moment im pretty sure shes already been aware of it.One thing i know,she does came from a good family background,good upbringing and a person with a lot of support.By now, im sure her family and even the network have probably reminded her of what being said and im sure she does feel apologetic about it.
Just to inform you, for so many months now,cheryl have been the target of so many negative publicities by a lot of the medias today.For some reason there is just some fascination on her by the medias in trying to dig up some dirt to make her look bad to the public,,,,,that is probably what happens when your one of the best for a long time in one of the successful,longest running reality show we have today,i can understand you guys not knowing about her but for some avid viewers of the show, she is probably if not the biggest,is one of the biggest star on the show today.She is one of the person that loves by many and at the same time hate by a lot of people..And the medias are taking advantage of this.Every move and every recent comment she makes are being twisted by many and most of the time are being taken out of context.I somehow feel for the girl just because some people are trying to deliberately ruin and bring her down.This past months, she was under a lot of tremendous stress, some anonimous person did spread a rumor about her and created a rather harsh scandal about her.it was obviously not true as no substantial proof have been presented,,,,then her dancing partner got a severe injury while they were doing the show dancing live on tv infront of millions of people,it was certainly a scary moment for her.And all other troubles that the medias are trying to throw at her,you have no idea.Im just glad shes tough enough to deal with any of it and didnt cause any breakdown on her part.And this is the reason i fully understand what shes been going through and even i know that she was drunk when this happened, her lack of judgement on this is probably just a result of emotional stress she is dealing with.
Ive followed her career closely enough to know that this girl is so much better than this.And its sad to see her being judged by a lot of people this way,so harshly. Im glad that you brought it up already and conveyed your thoughts and feelings about this to the network,i am with you on this,the fact that some of you got offended by her comment then it is just proper for the network to warn and remind her and make sure shes aware of it..,but i hope you can reserve your judgement of her.Cheryl has been using her talent,fame,and money out of this show to help so many people and kids out there.And i felt that again,you have all the rights to express how you feel about it and for a lot of us to respect it.But i hope that your not hating her for this alone.Your blog can cause some hatred for her and i dont want it to come to the point that she wount be doing the show anymore because of something like this.Not only she would be a big lost for the show but so as for a lot of people who looks up to her and those many people that are being helped by her and her family.This girl have done so many great things for others and i hope this is enough reasons for some of you to know and find in your heart to understand,forget ,forgive and move on.
July 1st, 2008
Michael Richards is a Vietnam-era military vet, and has been involved in activities that bring attention to the plight of homeless vets. Don Imus has raised millions for cancer-stricken kids to stay at his ranch, no charge for transportation, room, or board. Does that mean they should be excused for their racist rants? 50 years ago, people had the same opinion about the “n-word” that many seem to have about calling someone with dwarfism “a midget”. Had Cheryl Burke been referring to the R Kelly sex video as “that nigger thing” I’m curious if you could have defended it as ardently as you do this.
For me, personally, I don’t care about Cheryl Burke one way or the other, or her show – what I care about is convincing people to stop using derogatory terms to refer to other human beings. The fact that Tod seems to think the word “idiot” is more offensive than the word “midget” in this context shows that we’ve got a long way to go – and I’m not even that hard core about it! I made friends with Danny from shortdwarf.com at the conference – he, like Verne, enjoys poking fun at himself and his condition – and I say more power to him. However, I’m leaving that to him, the same way I leave use of the n-word, and whether it should be banished from the language, to people actually directly affected by it. If my daughter, who has achondroplasia (dwarfism, for the reality show fans who may not know big words), chooses to call herself a midget, that will be her choice. On the other hand, the rest of us do not have the right to use it, including intoxicated celebrities, generous or not.
Okay, that’s my 25 cents. I’ll stop here – it’s not worth it to argue with ardent fans
nigger. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved July 01, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nigger
nig·ger
–noun
1. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.
a. a black person.
b. a member of any dark-skinned people.
2. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a person of any race or origin regarded as contemptible, inferior, ignorant, etc.
3. a victim of prejudice similar to that suffered by blacks; a person who is economically, politically, or socially disenfranchised.
[Origin: 1640–50; < F nègre < Sp negro black]
You’ll notice the (fairly obvious) origin from latin, where Negro meant black. Not much mention of how it refers to slaves.
July 1st, 2008
Mike-
July 1st, 2008
Im trying to be polite as much as i can here and respect everybody.and this is the last time ill give my opinion on this.I already said what i had to say and it seems that it doesnt matter what i say.Honestly, i feel that there are much worst terms that being described and used by other people out there and this is certainly not the biggest of a deal to discuss and your right Mike its not worth arguing about.There are More important things to talk about in my opinion,this is not the first and certainly not the last, that something like this comes up.But again,im sorry how you feel about it but i stand by what ive said.Have a Great one!
July 1st, 2008
Mike and Will have done such a great job already of explaining why the “M word” is entirely offensive in any form or fashion to those who are dealing with that condition every day of their lives — but especially when used by celebs trying to be funny.
It’s a cheap joke. It almost always draws a chuckle from people who don’t have any idea what it’s like to deal with in their own body or in their children’s. And, sadly, I’m afraid it’s not going to change.
There are simply too many average height people in the world who don’t understand for this to change all that much. I know because I used to be one of these people. I look back on what I was like before my child was born with achondroplasia and flat out, I was a complete jerk.
I used the “M” word. I shot for the cheap laughs. It almost always worked. I hate myself for it every day.
Imagine what it was like when an insensitive nurse, three days after my child was born, tried to explain it to my wife and I this way: “Your daughter has a bone condition. She’ll only be about four feet tall. We’re talking dwarfism here. We’re talking midget. You understand?”
Yeah, I understood. I understood that was my kid she was saying all that stuff about. It was my kid who was the “M word” now. Believe me … not funny.
As my wife (Lisa) can attest, that nurse met the full wrath of my tongue that evening — and it all came straight from a shattered heart that was weeping for my baby.
Why was it shattered? Because I knew the world was filled with people like Cheryl Burke and Jimmy Kimmel and millions of others who don’t even consider little people as human beings.
What did my baby girl ever do to anybody to be born with labels like dwarf or the “M” word?
Because a fluke in the development of chromosomes happened, she (and we) should just sit around quietly and take all the hurtful barbs that come our way, just because some low-level celebutante wants to be funny?
Hell no.
It’s not funny to make fun of people who are born into this world with conditions that make them different than the so-called “norm.”
It’ll never be funny to those who know the sting those cheap jokes inflict on many people each time they’re uttered.
Hey Tod, if you have any children, imagine one of them being born with achondroplasia (I’ll spell it so you don’t have to). Then go back and watch that video of your girl Cheryl Burke. Imagine if that was your kid she was talking about.
Imagine if it was you.
How would you feel? Would you still be her biggest fan?
No, you’d be her “littlest” fan.
And she’d probably let you know it, too.
July 1st, 2008
Brian- Kudos!! That is why Liz is the LUCKIEST girl to have you for a parent!
Tod- Thanks for your opinion, but let’s not forget, this blog IS a dwarfism blog. Outside of a few ranting that have nothing to do with dwarfism, it’s main purpose is to educate. I’ll consider you educated now. It’s what you do with it is up to you!
July 1st, 2008
Tonya, you’re a lot obviously nicer than me. But you make a good point.
Hopefully Tod is better educated on this subject and why it’s such a hot-button issue for people in the LP community. This is just one subject in particular that pushes my buttons, for numerous reasons.
This whole experience has truly opened my eyes — especially to all the labels that we put on things and people. It’s like … sometimes I’d like to freeze Liz’s life at three or four years old, when she’s blissfully happy just being a kid.
But she keeps growing. And learning about the world. And soon … well, I wish soon could wait a little longer. You know?
July 2nd, 2008
Tod your comments and obvious lack of ability to see what we are all trying to say and educate you are becomming more upsetting. Perhaps your wonderful Miss Burke should make a public apology as a way to try and start educating the public about becoming more aware of what is said about disabilities can be very upsetting to those affected .If she is so great at charity work and helping others then perhaps try and get some good out out of this rather than at present teach more people to use a very offensive term towards a large population of people. It is not just money that needs to thrown at charities after all. money cant stop peoples narrow minded attitudes and inability to change an opinion or see it from others perspectives. I have no idea of who she is and realise that she is unaware of the upset she has caused as you too are. I wish neither of you no harm just want to educate you and open your minds and change society so that my daughter can try and grow up in a world with less predjuduice and judgement. it is societies attitudes that i worry about the most for my daughter and this is added to by incidences like this. She is just as entitled as you or I to go out and not be ridiculed, talked about and pointed at and decribed by offensive words.
Trackbacks