“Dancing with the Stars” host Tom Bergeron said on Tuesday he was shocked and unnerved by protesters who shouted “liar, liar” and rushed the stage after a live performance by Ryan Lochte, the gold-medal USA swimmer who said he had been robbed at gunpoint at the Rio Olympics.
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“I want to thank my family, girlfriend, friends and fans for being so supportive of me after the incident on Dancing with the Stars Monday night”, Lochte said via a note on Instagram.
Two men wearing anti-Lochte T-shirts – identified by Los Angeles policeas Sam Satoodeh, 59, and Barzeen Soroundi, 25 – rushed the stage after the Olympic gold medalist swimmer’s performance. The two were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing and held on $1,000 bail each.
The protest stems from Lochte’s highly-publicized Olympic Games incident in Rio de Janeiro when he lied about being robbed in order to cover up vandalism he and other members of the US swim team allegedly committed at a gas station in Brazil.
Thankfully, no one was hurt in the commotion and the show cut to a commercial.
Lochte was also shaken, but his focus remained on redemption. The cameras stayed on her, but newly released footage from ABC shows the protester stepping between host Tom Bergeron and the camera.
Amid a firestorm of controversy involving a fake robbery in the 2016 Rio Olympics, swimmer Ryan Lochte was rushed to by angry protesters onstage after performing in “Dancing with the Stars” as a contestant. Four or five other women were removed from the audience after chanting against Lochte. After Monday’s incident, I now know what that means.
The police department said in a statement: “LAPD was called to the studio where we took over the investigation and transported the two individuals back to the station for booking and processing”. Preciado said police did not know what the protestors’ motivations or intentions were. Despite the rough start, Lochte claims he remains positive and proud of himself for taking a risk in competing in a show like “Dancing With the Stars”.
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Former NFL wide receiver Calvin Johnson, Jr. told CNN the “unfortunate” event no doubt put “a damper” on Lochte’s debut, but said he gave his fellow dancer a pep talk backstage.
