The moment might have been fun for swimmer Ryan Lochte since it was his debut on the popular dance reality show "Dancing with the Stars." Instead, he felt a "little hurt" after two men tried to attack him after his performance.
Two unidentified men wearing anti-Lochte t-shirts allegedly rushed towards the swimmer on stage while he was listening to judge Carrie Ann Inaba's comments and scores. Although the incident was not seen on camera, there were shouts from the crowd saying "liar" while Inaba was speaking. The DWTS star was also heard shouting "Excuse me! Excuse me! Back off!"
Aside from the two men who tried to attack Lochte, there are also around four or five women chanting expletives at Lochte. The group was escorted away from the ballroom by the security after tackling the two men from the stage.
There was a short break after the incident and when the show returned, host Tom Bergeron thanked the show's security for acting quickly and stopping what could have been a worse situation.
Cheryl Burke, Lochte's dance partner, expressed her support to Lochte as well as her dismay about the incident. She also appealed to the public to give Lochte a chance.
"I'm shocked and hurt for Ryan. He's an amazing guy. He's great, he's kind and he's just here working his butt off and trying to do what he's supposed to be doing which is dancing. So I hope people give him a chance," she said.
Lochte, for his part, said that he's trying to sort out various emotions after the incident. He said that he's affected by what happened but compensated for it by saying he was able to do what he came to do.
The attack was fueled by the Rio incident where Lochte claimed they were hurt and robbed at gunpoint. Brazilian authorities, however, investigated and found out that it was not true. Team USA had already sanctioned Lochte and the other swimmers involved in the incident.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
