“I wanted to do something I’m completely not comfortable with, and I did”, said Lochte.
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“I knew that there was going to be a little [controversy], but I put it behind myself”.
Once the show concluded, Lochte was asked what he thought about the incident.
On the 23rd Season Premiere of “Dancing With The Stars” on ABC which aired on September 12, 2016 anti-Ryan Lochte protestors attempted to storm the stage as the swimmer was being addressed by the judges.
Satoodeh and Soroudi rushed the stage in anti-Lochte T-shirts while the swimmer was receiving scores from judge Carrie Ann Inaba for his debut performance during a live installment of the celebrity ballroom dance competition. He was referring to strong anti-Lochte sentiment, which has run deep after the swimmer admitted he “over-exaggerated” a tale about being robbed and held at gunpoint with three other swimmers after a party at the Rio Olympics. Video later emerged that showed the man who pointed a gun at Lochte was actually a gas station employee.
While the drama was unfolding on the DWTS stage, host Tom Bergeron cut to a commercial break.
The protesters were released from police custody at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, with a court date set for October 4, according to documents from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
CNN has reached out to ABC and “Dancing with the Stars” for comment. Lochte was suspended from the USA swimming team for 10 months, the Post reports, and has become the poster boy for white male privilege. When “DWTS” returned, Bergeron described the situation as “a little incident” and thanked the show’s security for “staying in shape”.
He was banned for 10 months, required to forfeit $100,000 in bonuses and will miss the 2017 world championships.
Sotoodeh told journalists, “We were sitting in our seats and we walked out and said, ‘He’s a liar'”.
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The two protesters were tackled by security and arrested for trespass and other people in the audience booed before being removed by security, the ABC network and police said.
