DWTS Pros Line Up with Lochte - S23

Dancing with the Stars

Pros Speak Out re:

Monday Night Incident

Ryan & Cheryl

Dancing with the Stars' Season 23 Premiere started out in all the right and high-sequined ways on last Monday evening when introducing an all new, star-studded Celebrity Cast to its enthralled, loyal fan-base.

However, and despite an overall fabulous debut from most of the Show’s newest Competitors, an unfortunate incident that would later take place near the conclusion of Week 01’s live episode would tragically prove one of the more – if not the most – memorable events from what was otherwise a stereotypically fun and fantastic affair.

Olympic Gold Medal-winning Swimmer and one of the better known aforementioned Cast members of Season 23, Ryan Lochte, was publicly harassed by certain members of DWTS' live audience who were later revealed to be Lochte Protestors in disguise.

The 6 Protestors – 2 men, 4 women – who were all sporting, white, “No Lochte” shirts apparently subtly entered into the building and unsuspecting studio audience, quietly awaiting for their moment of action during the Show.

Immediately following Lochte’s Foxtrot with his Pro Partner, Cheryl Burke – A surprisingly dapper performance that received a score of all 6’s from the Ballroom's Judging Panel – the Protestors seized their opportunity while constructive criticism was being offered to the Couple concerning their Dance by Judge Carrie Ann Inaba.

The 2 Male Protestors, who were later identified as being Los Angeles locals Barzeen Soroudi (40) and Sam Sotoodeh (48), according to usmagazine.com, swiftly crossed the Ballroom's Dance Floor over to where Ryan & Cheryl stood with DWTS' Host, Tom Bergeron, in front of the Judges Desk, interrupting Carrie Ann who tried pleading with the men, “Excuse me!  Hey, back off!  Excuse me! …”  to no avail.

Upon reaching the Desk, the 2 men were soon tackled in quick succession by DWTS’ efficient Security Team and driven away from the Desk and its surrounding onlookers before being forced to the ground and subsequently handcuffed.  The 2 men were later escorted from the premises and arrested by the L.A.P.D. on Trespassing Charges, according to E! News.

Meanwhile, still awaiting their time in the studio audience, the remaining 4 Female Protesters stood up and began heckling Lochte from across the Ballroom, citing that the Champion Swimmer was a “Liar” and chanting their disapproval.

DWTS' one and only 6-time Mirror Ball Champion and Fan-favorite Pro, Derek Hough, seemed to have decided that enough was quite enough at this point, taking matters into his own hands and reentering the main Ballroom from off-set.

Placing himself directly before the still screeching women among the audience, the veteran Pro began shouting back at them to immediately vacate the premises as well.

Hough’s angry directive of “… Get Out of Here! …” was quickly met by supportive cheers and applause from the watching, live audience, effectively forcing the 4 women out without an escort.

Following the unusual incident, E! News reported that some of the Stars from Season 23 are most “definitely concerned” and “shaken up” from the tense occurrence, while in juxtaposition, certain Pros of the Show are loudly speaking out on the subject,

“… My first thought was, ‘Is this a joke?’ ”

2-time Mirror Ball Champion Pro, Cheryl Burke, has shared via people.com,


“ ‘Is this scripted and no one told us? Too soon, guys.’ But as soon as he [One of the Male Protesters] started yelling ‘Boo! Lochte! Liar! Lochte!’ I realized it was a serious situation.”

“My mind started racing.”,The Dancer then continued,“ My initial concern was if the guy was armed or not. DWTS is a family show and I knew there were kids in the audience and I just didn’t want anyone to get hurt … I looked up to Ryan and I could tell he was on the verge of tears. I could feel his heart sinking into his stomach – and to be honest, mine was too. They cut to commercial break and I just had him lock eyes with me and I was telling him, ‘You’re amazing. Don’t forget why you’re here.’ I started to get teary-eyed and apparently was shaking, but I didn’t even realize that until someone else pointed it out to me. I just wanted to be strong for Ryan. The first thing he did was turn to me and say, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I just told him, ‘Never tell me you’re sorry again. …’ Ryan really is such an amazing guy. I can’t say that enough. Anyone who has watched me on the show over the years has seen me with partners I haven’t connected to or had chemistry with and you can clearly see that we have a sibling bond. …”

Burke went on to mention that members of Lochte's Family who were present in the show's live audience met with her afterwards, crying and offering apologies of their own.

“ I told them, ‘You all need to stop apologizing to me.  Ryan's a great guy and I have his back 100 percent, so let’s all keep moving forward and our heads up.’ ”

Other members of DWTS' Professional Cast have also disclosed their own perspective of the night’s spectacle, as the multi-Champion Derek relates of his own involvement during the incident, via his Blog on tvguide.com,

“… Needless to say, this was a pretty intense premiere.  …  I was backstage when it began and I had watched Ryan's performance.  I actually looked over to our casting director when he was done and said, ‘That was great.  That made me really happy.’  … Then I noticed Carrie Ann stumbling over her words and I heard a few screams.  I ran out to the floor and saw our security guys tackle these two guys.  It was all kind of surreal at that point and everyone was frightened and confused, but it was clear these guys were anti-Ryan Lochte.  I looked over to stage left and saw these women standing in a row with the same No Lochte shirts the two guys had on, and they were just heckling Ryan.  Our security was still taking care of the two main guys, so I went over there and told the women to leave.  I don't like bullies.  That really upsets me and it triggers something in me.  We don't do that here.  …  If I see something happening, I have to do something.  … I talked to Ryan after and basically said, ‘Forget them.  They're idiots.  You did a great job.’ … I have to give a huge shout-out to our security.”

Derek has also noted,

“We’ve known those guys forever and they were just awesome.  They were quick and on top of it.  We were all like, ‘Yeah! Go get 'em!’”“Julianne [Derek’s Sister and fellow multi-Mirror Ball Champion-turned-Judge] told me afterward that she wished I waited for security to escort the women out because they could've had something on them.  I was like, ‘I wasn't worried about that.  I would've just ducked.  I've got my rhinestone jacket on!’  

“All jokes aside, it was a very scary incident.  It was a really weird thing that's never happened in 23 seasons.  With everything that's been going on right now with shootings, it puts you on edge when stuff like that happens. 

 We're all very grateful that everyone is safe and we're all moving on and looking ahead.”

And it would seem that Derek wasn’t the only Pro to have voluntarily gotten involved.

Mirror Ball Champion Maksim Chmerkovskiy apparently – and much more quietly – reentered the Ballroom himself from backstage somewhere in order to stand next to his Fiancée and former, fellow DWTS Pro, Peta Murgatroyd, who had been conspicuously seated on the audience’s front row, near the Judges’ Desk.

Maks, who is expecting his son and first child with Peta sometime early next year, has been quoted as saying, according to usmagazine.com,

“I felt uneasy that Peta was in the front row, so I ran out, and when I saw they weren’t near her, I was good …”

And it would appear that the beloved Chmerkovskiy Pros like to keep their heroics all in the family, as Maks' little brother and fellow Champion Val has noted of his current 16-year-old partner and Gold Medal-winning Olympic Gymnast, Laurie Hernandez,

“I’m always protective over my partners.  But this season it’s very different.  I’m not working with some freestanding adult that knows what she’s doing.  I’m responsible for [Laurie's] well-being from the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to sleep.  … So if someone could run out there like that, are you kidding?  I will protect her, absolutely.”

Pro Allison Holker who returns to the show after a one Season hiatus for the recent pregnancy and subsequent birth of her son with husband, Steven “tWitch” Boss, has also voiced some thoughts on the matter, declaring,

“… in this [DWTS] ballroom, as a pro, as a celebrity, we all come together as one … I’m sending so much love to Ryan …”

Naturally, the brunt of all this undesirable attention within the Show has and will unfortunately rest squarely on the shoulders of Ryan Lochte, who has stated according to people.com that all the support offered him from the Pros of DWTS will not go overlooked nor unappreciated.

“I have gotten so much love from everyone on the show, including my partner Cheryl, my fellow competitors, the producers, the security team and its fans … I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the show, and more than ever, I am dedicated to my new family and to working hard to do my best.”

Ryan Lochte and Cheryl Burke