Artem Chigvintsev’s Former Partner Reflects On Sexist Comments
Dancing With The Stars fans felt stunned after hearing Season 29 champion Artem Chigvintsev was arrested on domestic violence charges recently.
While many of his colleagues are equally shocked, it seems that the Russian dancer engaged in unprofessional behavior behind the scenes too. One of his former dance partners chose to break her silence and discuss horrible comments he made to her.
Artem Chigvintsev’s Dance Partner Confesses He Made Sexist Comments To Her
Actress Lea Thompson competed with Artem Chigvintsev on Dancing With The Stars Season 19, which was his debut season as a pro dancer. They finished in 6th place out of 13 couples.
While the actress didn’t think he would go on to commit domestic violence, she recently admitted he didn’t treat her well on the show.
“Whatever this is that has happened to him, it’s actually really surprising to me,” Thompson shared on an episode of Cheryl Burke’s podcast, Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans. “I don’t know what happened. The one really crazy thing he said to me, that made me think about it, was I remember him telling me that men are much better than women. And I said, why? And he said, ‘Because they’re stronger.'”
Thompson was taken aback by the sexist comment but had a great clapback.
“I was like, but they don’t have babies. I’ve had a baby,” she continued.
“What is he talking about?” Cheryl replied. “[Men] can’t even handle any pain whatsoever.”
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Immediately after the arrest, Cheryl made a public statement saying she felt completely caught off-guard. However, she also stated she stood with victims of domestic violence. It’s a difficult situation, but it appears the former pro seems to be moving on from her friendship with Artem.
The Russian Dancer Has A History Of Bad Behavior In Rehearsals
Is it possible that DWTS fans missed the red flags with Artem Chigvintsev’s abusive behavior? In the interview, Thompson also shared that Artem Chigvintsev spoke very harshly to her during rehearsals.
“It was hard working with him because it was his first year and it was a big deal to him,” the actress continued. “He was so intense. It was so much more important to him than to me, honestly. And so that made me really nervous, it made me crazy after a while.”
Lea Thompson isn’t the first of Artem’s former dance partners to speak out. When he was on Strictly Come Dancing, he partnered with Fern Britton who had a similar experience.
“He would look at my feet and just kick me or shove me,” Britton told The Huffington Post UK. “He was like, ‘Shut your face. Go home before I kill you. would say, ‘Oh please just kill me, it would be easier.’ Or what was his other one? ‘If you go for a cup of tea now, I will blow off like an atomic bomb.’ I thought, well I won’t correct him on that one.”
Follow TV Shows Ace online to catch up with the latest Dancing With The Stars news. Catch the Season 33 premiere on Tuesday, September 17 at 8 PM Eastern time on ABC.
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