Dancing With the Stars is reevaluating their security measurements after Ryan Lochte protesters stormed the stage during Monday night’s season 23 premiere.
“The safety and security of our cast, crew and studio audience is of utmost importance,” a spokesperson from BBC Worldwide Productions told Us Weekly in a statement on Tuesday, September 13. “A full evaluation of security procedures/protocols is taking place and we will make any changes deemed necessary.”
As previously reported by Us Weekly, two men wearing anti-Lochte T-shirts rushed the stage following the 12-time Olympic medalist’s performance on Monday, September 12. The men were tackled and handcuffed by security, and women wearing the same anti-Lochte shirts in the audience were removed from the ballroom.
Along with security on site, audience members are also screened before entering the studio. Bags are also checked while attendees walk through a metal detector.
The incident clearly upset Lochte, who has been suspended for 10 months by the Unite States Olympic Committee and USA Swimming after he and teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen vandalized a gas station bathroom in Rio de Janeiro during the Summer Olympics. The swimmer, 32, had previously claimed to police that he and his teammates were robbed at gunpoint, but surveillance footage showed it differently.
“So many feelings are going through my head right now. A little hurt, but I came out here, and I wanted to do something that I’m completely not comfortable with, and I did, and I came out here with a big smile, and I have the best dance partner,” Lochte told host Tom Bergeron after the ABC show cut to commercial.
The Olympian is competing with pro Cheryl Burke.
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.
