By now, you’ve almost certainly heard about the scandal that followed American swimmer Ryan Lochte home from the Rio Olympics.
In case you were distracted by real news like Simone Biles’ insane abs, here’s a brief rundown:
Lochte claimed he was robbed at gunpoint along with three of his teammates after a night of partying in Rio.
Inconsistencies emerged, authorities investigated, and it eventually emerged that Lochte was lying about the whole thing.
Well, almost the whole thing.
There was some sort of ugly incident, and Lochte maintains there was a gun involved, but he wasn’t robbed, and accounts concur that he was the one who instigated the whole thing.
In fact, the alleged gun-wielder was most likely a security guard trying to stop Lochte and company from vandalizing a gas station.
Anyway, the whole thing has understandably left quite a blemish on Lochte’s athletic achievements.
He’s lost endorsement deals with Speedo and several other brands, and by some estimates he stands to lose as much as $ 5 million as a result of the scandal.
At best, he’s an Internet laughingstock:
At worst, he’s the embodiment of the “ugly American.”
So what is Lochte doing to rebuild his brand?
Well, if a recent report from Radar Online is to be believed, the disgraced 32-year-old is planning to hop out of the pool and compete on Dancing With the Stars:
“Lochte has agreed to season 23 of Dancing With The Stars,” an insider close to the Olympian tells the site.
“This is all part of a well-orchestrated and carefully planned career redemption tour being organized by some of the best public relations advisors and crisis managers in the business.”
Apparently, Lochte’s team believe that it’s the best way to showcase Lochte’s more likable traits to TV audiences:
“His people know that if the real Ryan Lochte is shown to America — via a medium such as Dancing With The Stars — people will realize that the incident in Rio was an aberration.”
Could be a smart move, or it could backfire horribly.
After all, Lochte had a reality show in 2013, and it didn’t exactly make the country fall in love with him.
(What Would Ryan Lochte Do? was canceled after just one season.)
But either way, it looks like this is a done deal:
“Ryan is the first of the big name signings and ABC will announce the move shortly,” says the source.
It’s hard to believe Lochte would make such a bold move so soon after being involved in a scandal.
Then again, this could be his team’s way of signaling that what happened in Rio is yesterday’s news.
Might not be the brightest thing for Lochte, but it’s sure to bring big ratings to DWTS.
We know we’ll be watching.
