Eric McCandless/ABC/Disney
Artyom Chigvintsev and Charity Lawson from “Dancing with the Stars.”
CNN
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Charity Lawson spoke about her time competing on “Dancing with the Stars” last year.
The former “Bachelorette,” who launched her career by placing fourth on season 27 of “The Bachelor” with Zach Shallcross, recently opened up about her experience on the dance competition series during a conversation on the “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast.
Lawson, a child and family therapist, told podcast host and former “DWTS” pro Cheryl Burke that she was surprised the show didn’t have an on-site therapist.
“I’m honestly so surprised. Dancing with the Stars was amazing, but that show literally put me through mental hell,” Lawson said.
She gave a bit of a pushback when Burke called it “shocking” that Lawson had been subjected to cyberbullying while competing with dance pro Artyom Chigvintsev. The pair finished the season in fourth place.
“Shocking? I don’t know if it’s shocking,” Lawson said on the podcast. “I think it was kind of expected.”
Lawson, one of the few women of color to have appeared on “The Bachelorette,” was prepared for the possibility of experiencing racism while competing on “DWTS.”
Lawson thought it would be a piece of cake based on her past experience appearing on reality shows, but in reality it was “much worse than ‘The Bachelor’ or ‘The Bachelorette’.”
“I was getting death threats just for existing,” she said.
Lawson grew emotional as she explained why she was speaking out now.
“I have to navigate this life as a black woman and on a reality TV show,” she said, “as if the same things aren’t being observed.”
CNN has reached out to representatives for “The Bachelorette” and “Dancing with the Stars” for comment.