Entertainment

‘Dancing With The Stars’ Increases Security After Lochte Incident

(MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images)

Katie Jerkovich Entertainment Reporter
Font Size:

ABC is increasing security on “Dancing with the Stars” after two protesters ran onto the stage after Ryan Lochte’s performance last Monday.

“They have ramped up security even through rehearsals and for the crew,” a source told Page Six.

The two men who rushed at Lochte were taken down by security, detained and later arrested for criminal trespassing, according to TMZ(RELATED: Men Rush Stage During Ryan Lochte’s ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Performance)

Ryan Lochte reacts after the men's freestyle 200m finals in the U.S. Olympic swimming team trials at CenturyLink Center in Omaha

Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

“It was very scary,” the source told the outlet. “You didn’t know what was going on. Security handled it very poorly.” (RELATED: Michael Moore Defends Ryan Lochte After He Loses $1 Million In Endorsement Deals)

Audience members are also being told to come earlier and plan for a longer wait to get into Television City Studio in Hollywood for Monday’s show.

“This time they’re going to be patting people down,” the source said. “They’ve already sent out a memo saying come an extra hour early. They’re going to lockdown the stage an hour ahead of time.”

Last Monday, viewers saw one of the judges, Carrie Ann Inaba, evaluating Lochte’s performance, then saying “excuse me, excuse me. Hey, back off,” and saw Lochte’s stunned expression while he was waiting to hear what she thought of his performance before ABC cut to a commercial during the live show.

 

Lochte later posted a message on his Instagram account thanking everyone for their support following the incident.

“I want to thank my family, girlfriend, friends and fans for being so supportive of me after the incident on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Monday night,” Lochte wrote. “When I was asked to do the show, the one thing that I kept hearing was that it was like joining a big family. After Monday’s incident, I now know what that means.”

A photo posted by Ryanlochte (@ryanlochte) on

“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,” he added. “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.”

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel