Many people are not too happy that Ryan Lochte is now a contestant on Dancing With the Stars so soon after the incident in Rio in which he gave false information to Brazilian police about being robbed at a gas station during the Olympics. And so protests began on night one of the show right after Lochte finished up his performance of the foxtrot with his partner Cheryl Burke.
Just as DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba was giving her critique of Lochte's dance two protesters, wearing anti-Lochte shirts, rushed the stage and bumped into the swimmer and his pro partner.
Viewers at home did not see the disturbance but knew something was going on when the camera stayed fixated on Inaba who was yelling at the protesters to "back off." The live show then went to a commercial break.
“We had to go to break because we had a little incident,” host Tom Bergeron said upon returning. “I’d like to personally thank our security team for staying in shape.”
Once the show concluded, Lochte was asked what he thought about the incident.
“Honestly, it felt like someone just reached inside, took my heart out and tore it to shreds,” he said. “I was really hurt when I saw that and I was in shock. But I looked at Cheryl and she just smiled and said, 'You just did what you said you can’t do. You danced in front of millions.’ And I was like, 'You’re right.’”
Some believed that the protest was staged so Lochte could garner sympathy votes, however, everyone did seem genuinely shocked when the incident occurred and the two protesters were arrested.
As we reported, the Olympian is currently serving a 10-month ban from swimming and has been dropped by his major sponsors over the Rio robbery scandal.