Getty ImagesThyroid cancer survivor Brooke Burke-Charvet thinks Melissa Etheridge crossed the line when she publicly criticized Angelina Jolie's decision to have a double mastectomy as more "fearful" than "brave."
"I feel like to comment on somebody else's decision and their motivation and to criticize it in any way feels really inappropriate for me," says the Dancing With the Stars host, who underwent a thyroidectomy after being diagnosed with cancer last year.
"And I bite my tongue because Angelina is not a personal friend and I can't speak about her experience, but doing something electively to avoid greats odds that you can have a fatal disease, not only is it brave, but I think it's pretty intelligent."
Burke-Charvet said doctors gave her the option of removing just half of her thyroid. "Different medical experts have different opinions," she said. "For me, as a mother of four and a wife, I went and got [a thyroidectomy]. I'm fighting to stay alive for my family—at all costs."
In some lighter news, Burke-Charvet is in San Francisco today to help announce that Smartfood and Self magazine have named the city the smartest city in America. "They're also kicking off their search for the smartest person who they're going to give $10,000 to," Burke-Carvet said.
And speaking of smart, Burke-Charvet thinks the producers of DWTS are doing the right thing by eliminating the weekly results show next season. "I don't know how they're going to do it, but I think it's going to be an action-packed exciting night of television," she said. "I do believe that. I think change is a good thing."
For more from Brooke-Charvet, check out E! Entertainment Special: Brooke Burke-Charvet tonight on E! at 10 p.m.