--- description: Tom Bergeron has said that it was "really unnerving" when protestors stormed the stage in protest after Ryan Lochte’s performance Monday title: Dancing With The Stars Host: Ryan Lochte Protest Was 'Really Unnerving' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cb25dd134f46b57/6988a5c2cd1bba4b777024a0/ap_16257153633953.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Dancing With The Stars_ Host: Ryan Lochte Protest Was 'Really Unnerving' by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 13, 2016 3:31 PM CUT  In this photo provided by ABC, Cheryl Burke, left, and Ryan Lochte, perform on "Dancing with the Stars," competition that begins with the two-hour season premiere live, Monday, Sept. 12, 2016, on the ABC Television Network. (Eric McCandless/ABC via AP) In this photo provided by ABC, Cheryl Burke, left, and Ryan Lochte, perform on "Dancing with the Stars," competition that begins with the two-hour season premiere live, Monday, Sept. 12, 2016, on the ABC Television Network. (Eric McCandless/ABC via AP)Eric McCandless—AP by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 13, 2016 3:31 PM CUT [_Dancing With the Stars_](http://time.com/4476393/laurie-hernandez-dancing-with-the-stars-video/ "undefined")host Tom Bergeron has said that it was “really unnerving” when [protestors stormed the stage](http://time.com/4488849/ryan-lochte-dancing-with-the-stars-protest/ "undefined") in protest after Ryan Lochte’s performance Monday evening. Speaking on [_Good Morning America_](http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/dwts-host-tom-bergeron-ballroom-shock-ryan-lochte/story?id=42052703 "undefined"), Bergeron applauded the program’s security team for dealing with the incident so quickly, adding that many members of the audience said they “didn’t know what to do because they thought it was part of the show”. “It wasn’t really until I saw Carrie Ann \[Inaba\]’s expression change that I got the sense something more was going on… by the time I saw the two guys coming with their T-shirts, our security team had them sucking floor,” he added. The protestors, named Barzeen Soroudi and Sam Sotoodeh, told the LAPD they were protesting Lochte for falsely claiming he was robbed at gunpoint while in a taxi in Rio during the Olympic Games this summer. They believed his actions “endangered Americans,” [ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/dwts-host-tom-bergeron-ballroom-shock-ryan-lochte/story?id=42052703 "undefined") reports. The LAPD confirmed to news channel that the two men have been charged with misdemeanor trespassing. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4489416/ryan-lochte-dancing-with-the-stars-protest-tom-bergeron/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4489416/ryan-lochte-dancing-with-the-stars-protest-tom-bergeron/"},"headline":"Dancing With The Stars Host: Ryan Lochte Protest Was 'Really Unnerving'","datePublished":"2016-09-13T15:31:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:09:47.237Z","description":"He applauded the program's security team for dealing with the incident so quickly","url":"https://time.com/4489416/ryan-lochte-dancing-with-the-stars-protest-tom-bergeron/","keywords":["Television","Dancing with the Stars","Ryan Lochte"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cb25dd134f46b57/6988a5c2cd1bba4b777024a0/ap_16257153633953.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cb25dd134f46b57/6988a5c2cd1bba4b777024a0/ap_16257153633953.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cheryl Burke, Ryan Lochte","caption":"Cheryl Burke, Ryan Lochte","creditText":"Eric McCandless—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4489416/ryan-lochte-dancing-with-the-stars-protest-tom-bergeron/","name":"Dancing With The Stars Host: Ryan Lochte Protest Was 'Really Unnerving'"}}]}] ```