Charity Lawson is revealing the heartbreaking reality of being a “Dancing with the Stars” contestant, months after finishing fourth in the competition.
“Dancing with the Stars was amazing, but that show literally put me through mental hell,” Lawson said.Sex, lies and spray tans“The 2020,” a podcast hosted by former professional dancer Cheryl Burke, has voiced concerns about the show since her departure in 2022.
Lawson, who appeared on season 20 of “The Bachelorette” after appearing on Zach Shallcross’s season of “The Bachelor,” said the criticism and bullying she received on the dance competition show “took a toll on me.”
Cheryl Burke explains the ‘Dancing with the Stars’ curse
Charity Lawson says she thought she was ready for the “Dancing with the Stars” fanbase coming out of “The Bachelor” series. (Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images)
“When I got into the ‘Dancing with the Stars’ fanbase, I thought, ‘This is a piece of cake,'” she recalled. “But it was actually a lot worse than ‘The Bachelor’ or ‘The Bachelorette’,” she confessed. “I got death threats just for existing.”
While Burke was shocked by Lawson’s confession, Lawson said, “I think it was kind of expected, so after ‘The Bachelorette’ I was like, ‘Oh, OK.'”
Charity Lawson, pictured dancing with her partner Artyom Chigvintsev, said the social media comments were cruel. (Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images)
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Lawson told Burke that the accusations continued: “Not acting enough, I was vain, I was arrogant, I was the biggest jerk in the cast. No, this is crazy. And for those of you who don’t know I’m saying this as I’m telling you this, this is the first time I’ve spoken publicly about this,” she revealed.
“I got to the point where I felt like I had to choose to not pay any attention to it in order to protect my peace of mind. It was so damaging. Every single night,” she said of the experience.
Lawson took steps to remedy the situation — she “blocked and filtered” her social media comments sections to avoid reading hateful comments — but the “Dancing with the Stars” social media pages were a different story.
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“Because I didn’t perform well enough, because I was too vain, because I was arrogant, because I was the biggest jerk on the cast. No, this is crazy. For those of you who don’t know me saying this, this is like the first time I’ve ever spoken publicly about this… The only thing I’ve ever shared about the way I was treated on the show was a statement my brother made at the end of the season.”
“I had to tell [partner] Artem [Chigvintsev]”I thought, ‘Unfortunately this is what we’re dealing with, this is what we’re facing,’ and I don’t see that feeling behind their comments when I compare it to all the other contestants this season,” she said, with the exception of Harry Jowsey, who struggled to dance consistently.
“It was just insane to watch and I couldn’t comprehend it,” Lawson said of the comments. The reality TV star said she went to producers but “it was too late” to remedy the situation.
Charity Lawson eventually informed her partner, Artyom Chigvintsev, about the hate on social media. (Christopher Willard/Disney via Getty Images)
“That’s why I said I’m not that surprised… Someone messaged me and said the same thing happened to Simone. [Biles] When she participated in the competition [on season 24]”Honestly, I thought this was just a trend. It’s kind of frustrating,” she said. “I’m just speaking my experience, how I feel… just existing, being present. But the differences that I have as a black woman and being on a reality TV show, and going through this life, I feel like the same things aren’t being observed.”
Simone Biles was a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” season 24. Like Charity Lawson, she also placed fourth. (Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
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“I just had to keep it in check and honestly, it got to a point where I was just trying to survive … I’m just trying to get through the season.”
Lawson said her portrayal on the show also undermined her: footage of her during rehearsal week was edited to emphasize the score.
“It’s almost like it’s distorted to make the viewer think, ‘She only cares about the score…she thinks she’s better than anyone,’ but at the end of the day, I don’t think I’m better than anyone. I’m just trying to get to where I feel I should be, or where my hard work has taken me, if I’m being honest.”
Charity Lawson said the packaging shown during the show had a negative impact on her image. (Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images)
“It’s almost like it’s distorted to make the viewer think, ‘She only cares about the score…she thinks she’s better than anyone,’ but at the end of the day, I don’t think I’m better than anyone. I’m just trying to get to where I feel I should be, or where my hard work has taken me, if I’m being honest.”
“I sometimes felt like my confidence and work ethic were interpreted in a way that audiences thought, ‘Oh, she’s so entitled…she’s so effeminate, above me’. But I was like, ‘No, I work hard…I don’t want to be worse than I was. If that intimidates you, sorry, that’s about YOU, not ME…You don’t have to like me, you don’t have to like my dancing, but one thing I can say is that you will respect me.'”
Charity Lawson thanks her fiancé, Dotun Olubeko, for giving her the strength to overcome the hatred. (Emma McIntyre/Variety via Getty Images)
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But overall, Lawson said she was glad she had the experience and that she had received great support from Chigvintsev, as well as her fiancé, Dotun Olubekho.
“Doton showed me how hard I worked, and if I found out I had just quit or walked away, I would look back and be devastated and really frustrated, and really angry at myself,” she said. “I’m glad I stuck it out until the end.”
