“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 made up a story about being robbed at the Rio Olympics.
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In this photo provided by ABC, Cheryl Burke, left, and Ryan Lochte, perform on “Dancing with the Stars”, competition that begins with the two-hour season premiere live, Monday, Sept. 12, 2016, on the ABC Television Network.
Los Angeles police spokesman Liliana Preciado says the men were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing. The two had tickets to the show and wore their protest shirts under their clothes.
“Dancing with the Stars” host Tom Bergeron said the show was interrupted by “a little incident” and thanked the ABC series’ security team. 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.
The footage shows private security quickly tackling one of two men, who were wearing anti-Lochte T-shirts, and approaching the other. Two men rushed the stage as judge Carrie Ann Inaba was critiquing Lochte and pro partner Cheryl Burke’s performance.
Meanwhile, four to five female protestors yelled anti-Lochte chants from the audience.
When the show returned after the commercial interruption, after the protesters were removed, Bergeron asked Lochte how he was feeling. However, two men chose to interrupt the judging by running towards the stage in an apparent attempt to confront the disgraced swimmer.
“We thought it was a joke, something prior to the show, you know”.
Sotoodeh told journalists, “We were sitting in our seats and we walked out and said, ‘He’s a liar'”.
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The athletes were subsequently sanctioned by United States swimming and Lochte was suspended for 10 months, meaning he will miss the 2017 World Championships.
