[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
It may have happened a decade ago, but Lea Thompson is STILL smarting over how Artem Chigvintsev treated her on Dancing With The Stars when they teamed up as dance partners in 2014. Yeesh!
The Back To The Future actress got paired with the now-42-year-old dance pro ten years ago on DWTS‘ 19th season. That was the year that Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Alfonso Ribeiro and dance pro Witney Carson took home the Mirrorball Trophy. Lea and Artem had a respectable showing, too — eventually finishing in sixth place. But the real story, as we are finally learning now, was going down behind the scenes! And it ain’t good!!
Related: Nikki Ain’t Playing After Artem’s Domestic Violence Arrest! This Is Happening FAST!
On Monday, Thompson popped up on the Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast to discuss her time on the show with Artem. Of course, this is notable because Chigvintsev is now in the crosshairs after being arrested on charges related to an alleged domestic violence incident in Napa County, California involving his wife Nikki Garcia (formerly known as Nikki Bella). And ever since that arrest, which occurred nearly two weeks ago, former DWTS personalities have been weighing in on Artem’s alleged temper and attitude with some VERY unsettling insights.
Now, you can add Thompson to the list. During Monday’s podcast, the 63-year-old star recalled:
“It was hard working with him because it was his first year and it was a big deal to him. He was so intense. It was so much more important to him than to me, honestly. And so that made me really nervous, made me crazy after a while.”
Recalling how difficult their dance routines were to podcast host and former DWTS pro Cheryl Burke, Lea added:
“It was also really really hard for me because I was a ballet dancer and a modern dancer. First day, he was like, ‘I’ve never taken any of that stuff, I’ve only taken ballroom.’ All this stuff that I knew, he knew none of that. I was never allowed to say, ‘Can I try this?’ He would get so mad at me.”
Calling Artem “so implacable,” Lea then added:
“That was hard because you’re supposed to also kind of love them. … I remember once, he was really mad at me because I was counting crazy. He was like, ‘Why are you counting like that?’ I was like, ‘I’m sorry.’ I was like, ‘My mind works a different way.'”
Jeez!
There was “one really crazy thing” that happened between them, too. At one point, Thompson recalled how Artem got SUPER sexist!! They were talking during a rehearsal, and the pro dancer allegedly said:
“I remember him telling me that men are much better than women. And I said, ‘Why?’ And he said, ‘Because they’re stronger.’ And I was like, ‘But they don’t have babies. I’ve had a baby.'”
WTF?!?!
Who says that?? Only weirdos would actually think that at all, but then who is crazy enough to say that out loud?!
Related: Artem Is Trying To Win Nikki Back After Domestic Violence Arrest! But Can He?!
In the end, Lea recalled watching Artem and Nikki compete together during the 25th season of DWTS in 2017, more than three years after her turn on the show. The actress was rooting hard for the former WWE wrestler at the time — including during a moment when Nikki flipped Artem over as part of one of their dance routines:
“I saw when they were doing their dance that she flipped him over and threw him on the ground. I was like, ‘go!’ You know, she did a wrestling move. You’re letting her show that she’s as strong as you. So, I thought that was kinda cool.”
LOLz!
And Lea got in one final dig at Artem during the show, too. After admitting that she was “surprised” by his arrest on charges of felony corporal injury to a spouse, the longtime on-screen star concluded:
“He has a cat, what can I say! Or, he had a cat. … I don’t know what happened.”
Yikes! BIG yikes! What do U make of this takedown of Thompson’s embattled former dance partner, Perezcious readers?? Sound OFF with your thoughts in the comments (below)…
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via Nicky Nelson/Adriana M. Barraza/WENN]
