Cheryl Burke And William Levy DWTS Week 2 Rehearsal Footage And Interviews (Videos)
TV Guide interviewed Cheryl about last week’s dance with her partner William Levy. She said she’s never received the screams she did with any of her partners before like she did with William. Below is a more….
Tom told me that a lot of ladies on staff were ogling him, so did you have any inkling that he would trigger this type of reaction?
Burke: No. I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew he is very popular in the Latin market, but I didn’t know how they were gonna react when they saw him here. And our show is obviously in the U.S. I was a little bit surprised. I didn’t think no one was gonna cheer for him or everyone was gonna cheer for him, but I was more like, “We’re just gonna go out and dance.” So having that support blew us away and I think really made us dance ever better.You guys did great for rehearsing for only two weeks.
Burke: Actually it was only 10 days. I think they had been wanting him to come on the show and this time he said, “OK, I can do it, but I can’t start rehearsals when everyone else is” because he was finishing up his contract. We started later than everyone else. I was a little nervous. First of all, I didn’t know who he was. [Laughs] I just knew he was Latin and was thinking that hopefully he’ll have some natural rhythm and musicality. And thank God he did! If he didn’t, we probably would’ve looked like a disaster.
Also, below is some new rehearsal footage from Access Hollywood on William’s strengths and weaknesses. We get to know him a little more too…
ADDING: And below is William on Good Morning America this morning….
ADDING #2: Wow big push for William today. Below is a new interview with ET as well…
Gawd, I feel sorry for William in this interview. The interviewer was over the top. I was hoping to see some of their Quickstep…
Wow that Access Hollywood interview was shameless, the guy is standing right there looking so unconfortable and the girl saying I just want to grab your butt and Cheryl is just like I already grabbed it and William is like when did that happen. He doesn’t want to talk about taking off his clothes just about dancing and having fun. Appreciate the GMA interview, much nicer.
I totally agree with you Dee! The interviewer was way over the top! William might be funny and have humor but it was clear that he was feeling very uncomfortable there as much as he was trying to hide it!
And can people please stop asking him when is he going to take his shirt off?? It’s starting to become really annoying! It’s fun and joke when you ask it 2-3 times but when you are doing it for 100th time is not funny anymore and I am sure that he doesn’t want to hear the same question again!
my thoughts exactly, #Dee and #Carmen. Like he was a piece of pottery or something, and so obvious that he was uncomfortable with it. But that didn’t slow that interviewer down one bit!
If it was a woman, with male interviewers talking about grabbing their butt and showing off their “assets” in skimpier clothes -reverse discrimination at its lowest! UGH – very unattractive, and I hope that Cheryl gets on a different bandwagon soon and starts talking about his dance abilities and work ethic etc etc etc, because drooling women can’t shift their focus enough to get on the phone/computer to vote. Just saying. The 2 steps of Quickstep we saw didn’t look half bad.
TPTB and Cheryl are rather playing it up, aren’t they. Whatever works, I guess.
I wonder what the interviewers IQ is? I hope when she watches it back, she’s embarrassed and learns something. It was worse than that Billy guy who rarely lets a interviewee say anything, and especially anything of substance. Liked GMA much better.
I think Cheryl would be doing him a big favor if she helped steer the interviewers away from some “image” like he’s a slab of meat, toward being a real person who also is nice looking. Sure, the hot sexy bit has appealed to many people obviously, but he could appeal to a much wider audience if he’s allowed to show that he’s a real live thinking, feeling person.
@Linde
You are right!! Piece of pottery you are saying…piece of meat is what I was thinking!! And I hate it when people treat to other people like they are a piece of meat! And I am not talking about William specifically but in general!!
I so agree Guys. AH needs to find some CLASS!! TPTB are going over board with this sex “piece of meat” stuff. Enough already.
I just don’t get it. I don’t find William appealing at all. All this sexual hype is doing more harm than good. And Cheryl is turning me off as well.
@Jess(post#6) I agree with everything you said. One of the reasons I predicted William would do well in this competition is because of his personality. Cheryl is good at showing different dimensions of people in dances and it is especially needed this season. Tonight’s dance will be a big test.
Another interview added!
Y’know, for me, this interview kinda illustrates my whole beef with this partnership – and contrary to what some folks around here think, my beef is not really with William himself…he seems like a very nice, well-mannered, albeit shy guy. I have no issues with him personally. My problem is with the blatant exploitation of him by TPTB, the judges, and even Cheryl herself – they all seem to be promoting him as this piece of meat. William is clearly uncomfortable with so much of that type of attention – his body language tells me he’s embarassed and feeling awkward. Perhaps even violated. And yet they all seem to be talking up the “sex factor”, and ramming him down everyone’s throats at every opportunity as the hottest thing this season. If they treated him like any other contestant and let us make our own minds up about him (without blatant manipulation of the scoring, or creative editing), I may have actually thrown a few votes his way. But at this point, I think doing that is just rewarding bad behavior on the part of those pulling the strings – so William is unfortunately probably going to end up a bit of a sacrificial lamb this season, much like Chelsea in season 12. Another instance of me having no personal problems with a contestant themselves, but rather the machinations of TPTB (and her partner) to promote her that season. Chelsea’s talent could have probably carried her to at least the semifinals, without any “outside assistance” – but once those wielding the power started manipulating the situation, I think it left such a bad taste in everyone’s mouth that it may have actually hurt her. Ditto with William – if TPTB left him alone and let him show the viewers what he was actually capable of, WITHOUT a boost from an outside entity, he could actually carry himself far in the competition. But now I honestly think the damage has been done (and might continue to be done) to the point where a pretty bad taste is left in viewers’ mouths…and the real loser in that situation will only be William himself.
Word, Courtney. It’s also not his fault that the judges overscored his cha cha rather blatantly. That will always put people off as well.
What bugs me just as much as the reporters’ beefcake overkill is the fact that they say things like “he was unknown in this country.”
I guess all the Hispanics/Latinos who live in America and who did know him don’t count.
At this point I don’t think William can be taken seriously in this competition, it’s rather a shame but Cheryl has been doing this long enough to know better. It’s only week 2 and already William is somewhat of a joke.
I only watched the first Access Hollywood interview and skipped the second because it sounded like raw unedited footage to me — like they told the interviewer just to vamp about William as a sex symbol, and they would edit it later. I did watch the other spots. I agree with what everyone has said — TPTB are trying to sell William as — to quote Cheryl — “the hottest piece of you-know-what” in DWTS history. That started long before the premiere of course. But now that the DWTS Season 14 premiere has gone down (literally down) in history as having the *lowest season premiere ratings in the history of the show*, I expect that we will see much more of this type of hype about William, and about anyone else that TPTB can sell this season. They have no “controversial contestant” this season to create the requisite “buzz”, so they are going to throw everything against the wall to see what sticks. Unless the ratings improve significantly going forward, we are in for a lot more of this type of publicity about William and whoever else. I don’t like it either, but that’s show biz, unfortunately.
No question he is being (unnecessarily though not unexpectedly) objectified yet he seems to be working hard and enjoying it and that counts for a lot. His dancing should have to speak for itself…it’s gonna take more than one spin to tell the story. And you have to show more than skin to win this thing.
That woman with AH is just plain pathetic, even for a tabloid show like AH. I’ve not been a fan of Cheryl’s in recent years because she seems disinterested and her choreography doesn’t seem to be all that great. Cheryl’s (and Carrie Ann’s) lusty, schoolgirl type comments about William are more pathetic to me because she’s supposed to be a pro. If William is such a good dancer then show the man some respect and let his dancing speak for itself.
I agree that William seems like a great guy, but I’m turned off by the way the show and the media is ramming him down our throats. Judging by much of the audience’s reaction last week, which to me is a little suspect, you’d think the females were at a Chippendale’s or a Thunder from Down Under show, not a ballroom dance competition.
Agree with you all. The interviewer from AH was about the worst I’ve ever seen. I could not watch all of it, it was just so embarrassing. Poor guy, he deserves a chance to show if he has dance skills or not. Just as they all do. Hopefully tonight we will see that. I also hope Jack does well tonight, otherwise he will probably be forgotten. They all seem to have potential this time.
I was ashamed of my gender listening to that classless tramp from AH verablly molest William (aided and abetted by Cheryl, who ought to know better)! 😡 William actually handled it pretty well, and reinforced my initial opinion that he’s a decent guy. I hope Cheryl is getting some tweets telling her to stop treating him like a slab of beef.
At least in the ET interview, we got to see a snippet of quickstep, and his frame wasn’t bad. I hope he dances well tonight!
#20 Cidra – ITA with you: At least it was refreshing to actually see them dance a little of the QS in that ET spot, and they didn’t look all that bad. I gave William a few votes last week, along with Melissa and Maks, although the largest share of my votes went to Martina. At this early point in the season, I am just looking at entertainment value until everyone improves, and I thought William was fun in his Cha-Cha. I wonder how much of Cheryl’s “he’s so sexy” blah-blah is prescribed to her by TPTB, and how much is she generating on her own? In any case, I don’t expect them to tone down the “I’m too sexy for my shirt” angle anytime soon.
@Cidra – I’m losing a lot of respect for Cheryl this season. I don’t know if she just hasn’t gotten any in awhile or what, but the woman seems to salivate around William – and one of my sources told me that she tends to get very touchy-feely with him in rehearsals, which he seems uncomfortable with. I used to think she was one of the more mature, level-headed pros…but this season she seems to be backsliding. This behavior is…unbecoming of her. Hope she nips it in the bud quickly….this could be an indicator that it’s time for her to take a break from the show.
Nip in the bud…but not literally, right? 🙂
Don’t give her any ideas…I’m sure she’d love to nip his bud 😉
I’m really not sure what to think on Cheryl yet but for now I agree with #NYC Girl and othes here that the producers are pushing these actions because when she was down here in Miami she was hanging out with WIlliam’s wife Elizabeth https://twitter.com/#!/rogerborges/status/180105493266694145/photo/1 and the whole extended family. But is kinda crazy that she;s not noticing that she’s making William uncomfortable, if we see it how can she not see or she has a mad crush on the guy and that’s all she sees. She did say before she tends to go for the unavailable guys.
Wait… William’s wife? I’m confused. I’ve seen a couple of interviews where William says he’s single…
#25 Carmen – Thanks for that tweet and photo. I did hear that William had a wife, and it does make a difference if his wife is actually hanging out with Cheryl! I mean … Of course, it would make a difference even if she wasn’t hanging with Cheryl … I do agree that if he looks uncomfortable, then Cheryl should notice and back off a little. But like I said before: That’s show biz, and I’m sure it’s nothing new for him (or his wife) to have women chasing him and hanging onto him. And the producers are going to play that angle for all it’s worth, as we know. I am waiting for him to dance to Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy (For My Shirt)”. That was tailor-made for him to take his shirt off, which is what everyone seems to be clamoring for … (Not me, but everyone else haha 🙂 )
#26 Ashley – I heard that he’s married, but I think they are separated, sort of …? The marriage was compared to David and Courtney Arquette’s, but I don’t know if that’s an accurate description. William may be calling himself “single” because he is in fact technically “married” but not with his wife anymore in any meaningful way. I don’t know, but that’s what I’ve read. I could be wrong.
I thought he was married with kids also.
@Ashley J
He is an on/off relationship with his kids’ mother but I think that they never got married. Apparently now they are…on? 😀
http://www.drfunkenberry.com/2011/07/16/hmm-j-los-video-hunk-william-levy-separates-from-wife-before-j-lo-divorce-announcement/
Stuck in moderation …??
Still confused. I knew he had kids, but I had heard what Ifigenia mentioned – that he had never married the woman. Personally if I were back together with someone or dating I wouldn’t say I were single in interviews. Then again, he’s been very coy and vague when answering the question about any current relationships. Maybe someone wants the DWTS female viewing audience to think they all have a chance? 😉
William and ELizabeth met in a Telemundo reality show looking for telenovelas stars like a Big Brother type living in a house with no outside contact, she is from LA and he lived here in Miami. Neither won the show, actually they were both pretty bad lol but they were likable and people loved the real life telenovela going on with them, they both came in 3rd place. Now they are both big stars in the Latin market. Anyways they got together in that show and he followed her to LA, he asked her to marry him a year later but they have never signed the papers. About the breakup, yes they did separate but for about a day or two hahahaha, she sent a press release but no one knows what really happened but AOL Latino got in touch with someone in the family that said that while they were living in Mexico ELizabeth started getting anonymous calls about William and other harrasing calls. Willaim has many many fans but like in everything he has crazy people following him too and they hate Elizabeth and are very nasty to her and sometines even their kids. They are trying to keep it private but everybody knows that they live together in a ranch here in Broward County north of Miami and now they are all together in LA. She was in 1st row on the 1st night.
Ashley, I am 95% sure that they never got married. But because they are together for so many years, they are calling her “his wife”. The last thing I knew is the they were not together. I don’t know if they are back together now…
Personally, I’ve never heard him saying anything if he is single or not. Only in one interview when they asked Cheryl, she said that she thinks he is single. I think William is the person who doesn’t like to talk about his personal life and probably he is trying to avoid the questions 🙂
Back from the clutches of the Spam Filter … Thanks!
#33 Ashley – DWTS’s core audience skews middle-aged female, so no doubt whatever William’s marital status, the producers want to play up his sex appeal to the ladies (and some men, for sure). I agree that it’s confusing, but then, confusion keeps us talking about it, right? 😉
Carmen and Ifigenia, thanks for the 411! 🙂
There is nothing wrong with how Cheryl is behaving around William or for that matter. Just like any partners, they are bringing their chemistry closer as possible. Derek and Maria are hanging on to each other like they are in a relationship, and i don’t see any of you make a big deal out of it? Kym and Jaleel go out holding hands like a couple, and no one is making big deal out of it either. So what if Cheryl holds on to William? She do that with a lot of her previous partners, and just like all the pros. Cheryl made it very clear that she is not dating William and it’s all business. She’s touched so many attractive butts for years, and this season is no different with William. Cheryl is just playing and giving what his female fans are wanting to hear. You are making too much about nothing!
Way to extremely over-simplify the discussion, T. It’s way more than holding on to each other and I think you know that.
@T
OMG T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just can’t believe that you are comparing the way Cheryl is treating and touching William to the way other pros are doing it with their partners!!!!