JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
‘It Was So Damaging...’: Charity Lawson Recalls Facing Online Criticism During Her Time On Dancing With The Stars
Charity Lawson speaks out about facing severe online bullying after her appearance in Dancing With The Stars season 32.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of death threats and bullying.
Charity Lawson recently got candid about her experience during Dancing With The Stars on Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast with Cheryl Burke. The dance show alum revealed the backlash she received during her tenure on the show. Read ahead to know what she had to say.
Charity Lawson on facing online bullying
In the latest episode of the podcast, the 28-year-old shared with Cheryl Burke, who was also on DWTS, that while the show was great for her, she also went through “hell and back” when it came to her mental health.
During the show, Lawson was paired with Artem Chigvinstev. She explained that she dealt with online bullying throughout the show. It is to be noted that Lawson also starred as the lead of The Bachelorette.
The 28-year-old shared that she came to the DWTS fanbase thinking it would be a “piece of cake.” It almost got to the stage where it was worse than The Bachelor and The Bachelorette for her. She added that she received death threats for “existing.”
While answering why she was receiving death threats, Lawson shared that it was for not performing enough, being conceited, entitled and the “biggest b***h on the cast.”
The reality show star expressed that this was her first time speaking out about the bullying because she chose to protect her peace while in the competition.
She mentioned that she told her dancing partner about the backlash she received on the show and her own social media account.
Lawson said, “It was so damaging, night in, night out,” adding, “I had to tell Artem, ‘This is unfortunately what we’re dealing with and what we’re up against.’ If you look in comparison to every other contestant on this season, they don’t have this underneath their comments… I’m just literally existing and being called a b****.”
The 28-year-old mentioned that she filtered and blocked comments on her personal account but they were still visible on the show’s social media page.
Charity Lawson gets emotional while talking about the backlash
While elaborating more about the comments she received, the 28-year-old broke down in tears. She said that the decision to open up about this comes because she has to go through her life as a black woman and being on a reality TV show. Lawson shared, “It’s like the same things are just not protected.”
She further mentioned that she had to suppress it and it got to a stage the she was “just trying to survive.” Lawson shared that she was trying to make it out of the season.
There were weeks when the 28-year-old would come home after rehearsals and hoped to forget her steps and get voted off. She said that it was a dark place.
Lawson who came in fourth in DWTS was asked if race played a role in affecting the results of shows, to which she answered yes.
Dancing With The Stars can be streamed on Disney+.
Common Disclaimer: If you need support or know someone who is struggling with abuse, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist, NGO or speak to someone about it. There are several helplines available for the same.
ALSO READ: Chris Pratt Shares PIC Of Mom-To-Be Wife Katherine Schwarzenegger: See HERE
Latest Articles
