Screengrab/ABC
Ryan Lochte, partner Cheryl Burke and host Tom Bergeron on 'DWTS'
The Olympian appeared shocked as his debut on the live ABC reality competition show was plagued by protesters: "We had a bit of a scary moment."
Ryan Lochte's debut on Dancing With the Stars was interrupted when two men rushed the stage during Monday night's premiere of the ABC reality competition series. The incident occurred off camera, though viewers could hear the chaos as it unfolded.
Several audience members, however, captured the incident on social media. According to the eye witnesses, a row of men and women in the audience revealed anti-Lochte T-shirts and two men then rushed the stage. Video from one Twitter user shows one of the protesters being tackled to the ground. Additional footage shows the audience clapping as the two men are escorted out, and then chanting, "Get out," to the remaining women.
After the show, ABC News' Jason Nathanson shared a photo of two men in handcuffs wearing anti-Lochte shirts.
Lochte and partner Cheryl Burke were listening to Carrie Ann Inaba critique his performance when the judge's attention was diverted to the commotion. The cameras stayed on Inaba as sounds of "boos" could be heard, and she began to repeat, "Excuse me, excuse me."
Host Tom Bergeron was heard saying "easy" before the cameras panned back to Bergeron and a stunned Lochte and Burke.
"Take a breath," Bergeron told the audience, before the show abruptly cut to commercial.
When the show returned from the break, Bergeron thanked the security team for their efforts, saying, “We had a little break because we had a little incident."
"So many feelings are going through my head right now," Lochte told Bergeron after the break. He then added that he was "a little hurt." Saying, "I came out here and I wanted to do something I was completely uncomfortable with, and I did."
A shaken Burke said, “I’m shocked. I’m hurt for Ryan. He’s an amazing guy."
Inaba took to her Instagram shortly after the incident to say: "We had a bit of a scary moment during tonight's live taping of @dancingabc, but thanks to our security team and incredible staff at #DWTS, no one got hurt. Only positive energy here tonight and always. Thank you. #dancingwiththestars #security #grateful #dwtspremiere #dwts23."
ABC did not respond to a request for comment.
Ahead of his casting on DWTS, the Olympic gold medalist was at the center of a firestorm after fabricating a robbery report while at the Rio Games. The scandal marred the U.S. Olympic team's performance in Rio de Janeiro and the swimmer subsequently lost his endorsements. Lochte wouldn't be the first to attempt to rehabilitate his image on the dancing show, which has also featured TV personality Paula Deen.
Watch the moment below:
Dancing with the Stars
