Current:Home > MarketsCharity Lawson recalls 'damaging' experience on 'DWTS,' 'much worse' than 'Bachelorette' -Golden Horizon Investments
Charity Lawson recalls 'damaging' experience on 'DWTS,' 'much worse' than 'Bachelorette'
View
Date:2025-04-14 20:13:16
Charity Lawson is coming forward about her "damaging" experience as a Black woman competing on "Dancing With the Stars."
The Season 20 "Bachelorette" lead shared on former "DWTS" pro Cheryl Burke's "Sex, Lies and Spray Tans" podcast episode Monday that she "went through hell and back with my mental health" while on Season 32 of the dancing competition show.
Lawson, who came in fourth place with professional dance partner Artem Chigvintsev, said she was being relentlessly bullied by fans and was not protected by network executives.
Burke remarked that she found that shocking, to which the child and family therapist responded, "Is it shocking? I don't know if it's shocking. I think to a certain degree it was expected."
Lawson explained that coming from the backlash she got on "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," she thought "DWTS" would "be a piece of cake" – but it ended up being "so much worse."
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
USA TODAY has reached out to reps for "DWTS."
"I was getting death threats for existing … for not performing enough, for being conceited, for being entitled," Lawson recalled. "It was so damaging, night in, night out."
The former "DWTS" contestant added that while she "blocked and filtered" damaging comments on her Instagram page, the show's official account did not, even after Chigvintsev brought up the issue to executives.
Cheryl Burkerecalls 'Dancing With the Stars' fans making her feel 'too fat for TV'
Lawson began to cry as she recalled her experience, sharing that she decided to now speak out to highlight "the difference that I have to go through this life as a Black woman and being on a reality TV show. It's like the same things are just not protected."
"There were weeks where I'd come home from rehearsal where I'm like, 'I literally hope I forget my steps and get voted off.' … It's a really dark place," she recalled.
The family therapist added that the way her video packages were edited did not help with likeability amongst voters.
"It's shaped this way that I was boasting and bragging about my scores but I'm only talking about them because you guys asked me," Lawson said. "That was really frustrating when I started to see my packages painted in this way. It's almost skewing the viewers in this way of, 'All she cares about are scores' (and) ‘She thinks she's better than everyone.'"
Burke concluded by asking Lawson whether she thought her race impacted her outcome on "DWTS," to which she simply responded, "Yeah."
veryGood! (6381)
Related
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- This surprise reunion between military buddies was two years in the making
- Noem fills 2 legislative seats after South Dakota Supreme Court opinion on legislator conflicts
- 'I'm just like a kid': Billy Dee Williams chronicles his 'full life' in new memoir
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- US closes 7-year probe into Ford Fusion power steering failures without seeking further recalls
- Can candy be a healthy Valentine's Day snack? Experts share how to have a healthy holiday.
- Spring training preview: The Dodgers won the offseason. Will it buy them a championship?
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Love Story PDA Continues at Super Bowl 2024 After-Party
Ranking
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- We knew what was coming from Mahomes, Chiefs. How did San Francisco 49ers not?
- Nor'easter, snow and storms forecast across New England through Tuesday
- Oscar nominees for films from ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’ to documentary shorts gather for luncheon
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Proof Jason Kelce Was the True MVP of the Chiefs Super Bowl After-Party
- Leading Virginia Senate Democrat deals major setback for Washington sports arena bill
- How long was Taylor Swift on TV during the Super Bowl?
Recommendation
Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
Cocoa prices spiked to an all-time high right before Valentine's Day
University of Arizona looks to ‘reset’ athletics budget. What does that mean for sports?
What Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce said right after Chiefs repeated as Super Bowl champs
Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
Listeria recall: More cheese products pulled at Walmart, Costco, Safeway, other stores
States target health insurers’ ‘prior authorization’ red tape
Hailey Bieber Debuts Hair Transformation at the 2024 Super Bowl