This past week on "Dancing With The Stars," Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte performed his first routine on the show. While he was getting judged, a man stormed onto the stage wearing a shirt that said "No Lochte." He was immediately brought down by security guards. He was also joined by another man on stage, and four women in the balcony were wearing the same shirt shouting "Liar!" The "Dancing With The Stars" cast and crew were shaken and shocked by the incident. My response to that: Are we really surprised that this happened?
As many of you already know, there has been some major controversy surrounding Ryan Lochte. While down at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Lochte claimed he was held at gunpoint while at a gas station. Did this actually happen? Nope, he lied. He and three other teammates vandalized the gas station after a long night of drinking.
Since this incident, Lochte has been suspended for 10 months from the U.S. swimming team and dropped from multiple companies as a sponsor. This all happened in the last month. So, what does "Dancing With The Stars" do? They put him as a "star" on the show. Obviously, that's what you do to someone who lied and made his country look bad.
In my opinion as someone who has watched this show since season one, Ryan Lochte should have NEVER been cast on "Dancing With The Stars." It's too soon. His scandal is too recent and people are not ready to forgive him. Can you really blame them? He lied and made America look bad. The two men that stormed the stage were Brazilian, and they claimed that he made Brazil look bad. Even though they may have gone to extreme actions, can you really blame them for feeling this way? Lochte did in the first place say that he was held at gunpoint by a Brazilian man, when he never was.
As I read comments on articles about this, I've read comments such as, "Move on, give him a second chance" and "Seriously? Just forgive him." I'm not saying we should never forgive him. But this happened one month ago. Let me use the example of Michael Phelps, another Olympic swimmer. After the games in Beijing, Phelps was caught smoking marijuana. Then in 2014, he was arrested for a DUI. People were outraged, the most decorated Olympian getting arrested and smoking pot? What Phelps did was step out of the stoplight for a long time, get his act together, and came back better than ever in the Rio de Janeiro games. What didn't he do? Join a popular dance competition show one month after his big scandal and expect people are ready to forgive him.
With that example given, people need time to forgive Lochte. What he did wasn't okay. With Lochte's attitude on the show, he (in my opinion) is playing the martyr by saying his "feelings are hurt." I'm sorry Lochte, but I don't feel bad for you. People are still angry after what you did. Should they have gone to that extreme? Maybe not, but did you seriously expect your "Dancing With The Stars" run wouldn't have people against you, and everyone would easily forgive you?
He should have never been placed on this show in the first place. He should have done what Phelps did, step out of the radar for a while. And shame on "Dancing With The Stars" for putting him on the show in the first place. Did they want to work off the controversy, did they want higher ratings? That's a crummy way to get ratings. As a fan of the show, it's going to be hard for me to watch and pretend it's okay that we have Lochte on the show. Hopefully he will be voted off the show early on in the season, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he stays on for ratings, or receive "pity votes." I also wouldn't be shocked if there were more protesters on the show. If I'm judging "Dancing With The Stars" this season with their score cards, I would give them a 1.
