Update: The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office charged the two male protesters that stormed the stage during Ryan Lochte's performance during Dancing With the Stars, according to People. Sam Sotoodeh, 59, and Barzeen Soroudi, 25, were both charged with two counts of misdemeanor, one for leaving a spectator area and the second for interrupting the performance, Monday. They both face up to $1,000 in fines and six months in jail, the L.A. City Attorney told People. They'll be arraigned October 4.
Protesters attempted to storm the Dancing With the Stars set while the judges attempted to grade Ryan Lochte's performance tonight.
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This article was originally published on September 12, 2016.
Men wearing white t-shirts with anti-Lochte slogans rushed the stage while Carrie Ann Inaba was speaking, according to an eyewitness report to E! News. Security prevented them from doing anything, and a crowd of other people wearing similar T-shirts was removed. One of the men reportedly threw an object at Lochte. Maybe they wanted to give him a hug? We'll never know.
Host Tom Bergeron threw the show to commercial and the protesters were never shown on-screen.
"I'm doing good," Lochte said upon return from commercial break. "So many feelings are going through my head right now. A little hurt. I came out here and I wanted to do something I was completely uncomfortable with, and I did."
Lochte and partner Cheryl Burke were "too shaken" to speak with the press, according to their publicist.
“Ryan was backstage and close to tears,” Jana Kramer, a country music artist and dance contestant, told People. “Everyone makes mistakes and I really hope America gets to see the guy we are all getting to know, which is a really, really nice guy.”
Watch video of the incident below.