Los Angeles Police arrested two men after they rushed the stage following the dance performance of U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte and his partner Monday night on Dancing With the Stars.
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Lochte is attempting to fix his image after embellishing a story that he and three USA Swimming teammates were robbed at gunpoint during the Olympic Games in Rio. After the lie was revealed, Lochte lost all four of his sponsors and was suspended from USA swimming competition for 10 months. The couple had just finished a performance when the two men who were sporting t-shirts with a large “NO” sign over Lochte’s name leaped on stage in an attempt to get to the Olympic swimmer. They told ABC News that they did what they did because they say Lochte is a liar and, in their view, his actions in Rio endangered Americans.
Lochte, who clearly was shaken by the incident, said he was emotionally a “little hurt”. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba was heard telling someone to “back off”, but the camera stayed fixed on her. Photos from ABC7 Entertainment Guru George Pennacchio showed two men wearing anti-Lochte shirts with their hands behind their back. Lochte said during the piece that he was hoping to use “Dancing with the Stars” to show the world he had changed.
Bergeron shared his thoughts about the incident on Good Morning America, saying he doesn’t think the protest will hurt Lochte’s chances on the show down the road.
The two men, L.A. residents Sam Sotoodeh, 48, and Barzeen Soroudi, 40, were booked for trespassing. When the show returned to the broadcast, Lochte appeared unharmed but still affected by the incident. “Me and Ryan have gotten the pleasure to know each other, and he’s an wonderful guy”. “I’m in shock. I mean, I’ve never experienced this on the 19 seasons I’ve done on ‘Dancing with the Stars, ‘” Cheryl Burke said. They were held on $1,000 bail each. Bergeron thanked the security team on the show. “I didn’t want to do something I wasn’t completely comfortable with and I did”.
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Lochte has continued to take hits from the public after his drunken encounter following the Rio Olympics.
