However, two men chose to interrupt the judging by running towards the stage in an apparent attempt to confront the disgraced swimmer.
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Disgraced Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte made more than a splash when he performed on last night’s premiere of Dancing With the Stars.
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”.
Lochte, who was vilified in the USA media for lying about being robbed and held at gunpoint during the Rio Olympics last month, appeared shaken by the incident on Monday night’s show.
Several women protesters were also reportedly removed from the audience after they shouted at Lochte. But some witness statements and surveillance videos support Lochte’s initial statement that the swimmers were robbed at the gas station by armed men who flashed badges and pointed guns at them before shaking the swimmers down for their wallets.
So it all happened very quickly and then my main concern was how Ryan and Cheryl [Burke] were and to try to get some control of the show so we could move forward once I knew that that had been taken care of. The cameras stayed on her, but newly released footage from ABC shows the protester stepping between host Tom Bergeron and the camera. The two, Barzeen Soroudi and Sam Sotoodeh, were held overnight following Monday’s filming, when they rushed the stage wearing anti-Lochte shirts after the swimmer’s foxtrot with Burke. The sooner we forget his embarrassing series of lies about being robbed at gunpoint during the Rio Olympics, the better-at least for him. The gold medallist lost all four of his sponsors and was suspended from competition for 10 months after he apologised for lying. Bergeron said the protest generated sympathy for Lochte.
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Bergeron said that “the mood in the room was definitely in Ryan’s corner after these guys were escorted out”. “It was really unnerving and again, I applaud our security team for making it very short”.
