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Ryan Lochte Protesters Disrupt His ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Debut

Ryan Lochte’s Dancing With the Stars debut took a major left turn on Monday night after protesters stormed onstage and caused quite the ruckus.

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ABC News reported that two men got on the ballroom dance floor and at least four other people yelled anti-Lochte chants. The men, Sam Sododeh (48) and Barzeen Soroudi (40) of Los Angeles, were charged with trespassing. A row of people wearing the anti-Lochte shirts could be seen in the back row, and they too were escorted from the studio.

Cheryl Burke and Lochte had just completed their foxtrot when the two men ran onstage from the audience section. However, you have to keep in mind that there were multiple markets, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, that preempted the show’s premiere for NFL football; with this being the first game for the Los Angeles Rams in years (even if it was a bad game), we expect a big downward adjustment to around a 1.9 for the final figure. “I would like to personally thank our security team for staying in shape”, host Tom Bergeron said after the commotion. Brazilian authorities said Lochte and several other men damaged the gas station bathroom and urinated in public, which led to the incident. “It was really unnerving and again, I applaud our security team for making it very short”.

The swimmer and Burke were about to receive their scores from the judging panel when the protesters, wearing tee-shirts with Lochte’s name crossed out, appeared on stage.

“So many feelings are going through my head right now”.

Critics have held up Lochte as an example of ugly Americanism since the Rio Olympics, where Lochte and swimming teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen were involved in a drunken encounter early in the morning of August 14. “A little hurt”, said Lochte, who in the aftermath of the Rio controversy also lost huge sources of income when key sponsors including Speedo and Ralph Lauren dropped him.

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Lochte joined Season 23 of “Dancing With The Stars” after a spate of negative publicity he received for admitting he “over-exaggerated” claims that he and fellow swimmers were robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro. The swimmer added that he was “a little hurt, but I came out here”. I do think that you have a lot to work on. I’ve been around Ryan, and I think he’s really awesome and he’s a super-nice guy. “So I hope people give him the chance”.

Protesters Disrupt Ryan Lochte's Dancing With The Stars Debut. No Sequins Were Harmed.