Drew Lachey: Not Voting for Cheryl Burke on DWTS

Why the season 2 winner of Dancing With the Stars isn't rooting for his former partner to take home the disco-ball trophy

By Marc Malkin May 11, 2009 5:07 PMTags
E! Placeholder Image

Drew Lachey may have won season 2 of Dancing With the Stars with the help of Cheryl Burke, but that doesn't mean he'll always have her back.

Lachey told us this weekend that he is not rooting for Burke and Gilles Marini to take home the disco-ball trophy.

If not Team Burke, then who is Lachey voting for? Read on to find out.

"Shawn Johnson," Lachey told us Saturday at the 16th Annual Race to Erase MS Gala benefiting the Nancy Davis Foundation for Multiple Sclerosis. "I'm pulling for Shawn."

He praised Johnson for having the courage to do something way outside her comfort zone at such a young age.

"She's 17 years old," Lachey said. "She's putting herself out there, doing something completely foreign to her. Adults can adjust a bit easier, but for a 17-year-old to go out there? My hat goes off to her."

Besides, Lachey joked, a Burke and Marini win "belittles" his accomplishments.

"I'm going to have to go back on there and show people that it wasn't her—it was me," he said. "If I had a different partner, I still would have won."

Also hitting the MS benefit were the ubiquitous Kim Kardashian and boyfriend, Reggie Bush, Nia Vardalos, Avril Lavigne, Penny Marshall, Jessica Lowndes and E!'s very own Giuliana Rancic and hubby Bill.

—Reporting by Dahvi Shira

________

Follow Marc on Twitter @marcmalkin