Taking safety seriously. Dancing With the Stars has increased security on set after last week’s scary incident where Ryan Lochte protesters stormed the stage in response to his Rio robbery scandal.
Before the competition started, the audience was warned that the show has “zero tolerance” for profanity, inappropriate behavior or attire that violates the dress code, and that DWTS has the right to remove people who violate these rules from the premises. The crowd was also made aware of the exits in case of emergency.
In addition, the show had a heightened security presence on the L.A. set. During the commercial breaks and set changes, several guards stood around the perimeter of the dance floor, facing the audience. A security officer also sat directly in front of Lochte’s mom, Ileana, and girlfriend, Kayla Rae Reid.
The DWTS family has been supportive of the Olympic swimmer, 32, since last week’s frightening incident. Some of the pro dancers and contestants donned shirts with the athlete’s name inside a red sparkly heart, in contrast to the anti-Lochte shirts worn by the hecklers.
This week, Lochte and his partner, Cheryl Burke, danced a quickstep to The Muppets’ theme song for the TV-themed night, and scored a 24 for their efforts.
The What Would Ryan Lochte Do? star told Us Weekly that last week’s incident got him down, but he’s now ready to turn things around. “I feel a lot better,” he said. “Last week I wanted to quit the show. I thought, Dancing With the Stars doesn’t deserve this, and I just wanted to quit. I was really down on myself. But you know, DWTS, they really came together as a family and they really supported me.”
