When the Dancing With the Stars cast was revealed, there was always going to be someone who brought controversy with them. In the past, it was people like Bristol Palin and disgraced chef Paula Deen. This year is no different. ABC reported that one of the new Dancing With the Stars cast members is Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte .
The full list of the Dancing With the Stars cast members for Season 23 was premiered on Good Morning America . The Dancing With the Stars cast includes Ryan Lochte, Amber Rose, Calvin Johnson Jr., Jake T. Austin, James Hinchcliffe, Jana Kramer, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Laurie Hernandez, Marilu Henner, Maureen McCormick, Terra Jolé, Vanilla Ice, and Rick Perry.
Originally, it might have been former Presidential candidate and former Texas governor Rick Perry that turned heads. It also might have been Amber Rose, who seems to love being in the center of controversy and attention. However, thanks to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, it is Ryan Lochte who brings in the extra baggage.
Before the Rio Olympics, Lochte was just known as the second best swimmer in the world after Michael Phelps. He holds seven individual Olympic medals heading into the 2016 Olympic Games. However, instead of people talking about Lochte’s Olympic feats as he becomes a member of the Dancing With the Stars cast, they were talking about what happened after he finished competing.
Ryan Lochte says he owes it to his friends, family and teammates to “move forward” https://t.co/WgTmPGrnSZ #DWTS pic.twitter.com/eXkV5BdyoA
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) August 30, 2016
Ryan Lochte came forward after he was ready to return home and claimed that he was held at gunpoint and robbed in Rio. Lochte returned home to the United States, but the three other Olympians he was with at the time of the alleged robbery were detained by the Rio police and questioned as the Rio police force claimed Ryan lied about the claims.
The Rio police claim that Ryan Lochte and three other Olympic athletes went to a gas station and vandalized a bathroom there. When they tried to leave, security guards stopped them and questioned them about the incident. According to the Rio authorities, the security guards demanded payment to fix what was vandalized. According to the American swimmers, the guards had guns pulled but the Rio authorities say that is untrue.
Ryan Lochte is now endorsing a tiny, super-loud personal alarm called Robocopp https://t.co/2ZLNCaqyrK
— TIME (@TIME) August 30, 2016
Most of the public has already condemned Ryan Lochte as a liar, but when Lochte was introduced as part of the Dancing With the Stars cast on Good Morning America , he maintained that the Rio government fabricated their story .
“USA TODAY and other people have been finding out and investigating. There was no damage to the bathroom. I have never even entered the bathroom. It was locked, so we couldn’t go in there at all. The story about me vandalizing the bathroom is absurd. It never happened.”
With that said, Ryan Lochte said at the Dancing With the Stars cast introduction that he wasn’t sure if it was a robbery or if the security guards were extorting money from the swimmers, but he maintains that he was telling the truth about what he believed happened in Rio.
As for being part of the Dancing With the Stars cast, Ryan Lochte said that he is planning to treat it like preparing for the Rio Olympics. He also hinted that he is retiring from competitive swimming as he said that he will trade his Speedo for dancing shoes and head into the ballroom with the idea of winning.
Ryan Lochte’s partner as a member of the Dancing With the Stars cast is Cheryl Burke. This is good news for Lochte, as Burke was the first female professional to win on Dancing With the Stars . She also won back-to-back Dancing With the Stars titles when she danced with Nick Lachey and Emmitt Smith.
Since that time, she has reached second place two more times and third place three times, with Jack Osbourne as the most recent in Season 17. The last two Dancing With the Stars cast members to pair up with Cheryl Burke were Antonio Sabato Jr. and Drew Carey, finishing in eighth place in their respective seasons. She hopes to return to the top with Ryan Lochte in Season 23 of Dancing With the Stars.
[Photo via Martin Meissner/AP Images]