Charity Lawson said, Dancing with the Stars.
In the latest episode of Sex, lies and spray tans During the podcast, the former Bachelorette, 28, said she called in a therapist on the set of the ABC dancing show after experiencing mental health issues while competing on Season 32 last fall.
“I’m surprised you guys don’t,” she told the hosts. Daytona “Honestly, I’m very surprised,” graduate Cheryl Burke said of the need for therapists. Dancing with the Stars It was amazing. That show literally put me through mental hell.”
Disney/Christopher Willard
Burke said he had previously pitched the idea of a “dance doctor” to make the show “more TV-friendly”, but it never made it onto the show.
Despite asking fellow singles, Daytona Although she sought advice from winner Kaitlyn Bristowe, the experience was still a “huge shock” to Lawson.
The reality TV star was paired with Artyom Chigvintsev on the show and came in fourth place, but said she was subjected to online bullying throughout the competition, which Burke described as “shocking”.
“Shocking? I don’t know if it’s shocking or not. I think to some extent it was expected,” she countered.
Disney/Christopher Willard
Lawson explained that after facing criticism as a leader, he felt he could handle the experience. Bachelorette.
“I Dancing with the Stars Fans were hoping it would be an easy win, but it actually ended up being much worse. Bachelor’s degree and Single woman“I was getting death threats just for existing,” she explained.
When asked why she was receiving death threats, Lawson replied, “Because I’m not good enough at acting, because I’m too conceited, because I’m arrogant, because I’m the most nasty person in the cast. It’s crazy.”
Lawson said it was the first time she had spoken publicly about bullying during a tournament “to protect my peace of mind.” But she told Chigvintsev: Dancing with the Stars And her own social media accounts.
Craig Sjodin/ABC
“Every night was really damaging,” she recalled. “I had to say to Artyom, ‘Unfortunately, this is what we’re dealing with, this is what we’re facing.’ Compared to the other contestants this season, there’s no such feeling behind their comments…I’m literally just existing and being called a bitch.”
She said she had “blocked and filtered” comments on her account, but that comments were not filtered on the show’s page.
ABC did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Disney/Christopher Willard
Lawson then broke down in tears over the comments she had received, saying why she decided to speak out: “I have to navigate this life as a black woman and on a reality TV show and I feel like the same things aren’t being respected.”
She said she tried to adopt the “best attitude” she could given the situation, but still struggled to continue competing.
“I had to just keep it in and it got to the point where I was just trying to survive,” she explained. “I’m just trying to get through the season… There were weeks where I’d come home from rehearsals and literally forget my steps and hope I was voted out… It’s a really dark place.”
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She added that the show’s video packages had not helped it gain support from viewers.
“I used to brag about my scores, but I was only telling them because people asked me,” she explained. “When my scores started being portrayed like this, it really annoyed me. It was like it skewed the viewer into thinking, ‘All she cares about is the score.'” [and] “She thinks she’s better than anyone.”
When asked if she thought her race ultimately affected the outcome, Star DanceWhen I asked her, she answered, “Yes.”
Dancing with the Stars Available to stream on Disney+.
