Charity Lawson ‘went through hell and back’ on ‘Dancing with the Stars’

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Charity Lawson is opening up about her time as a contestant last year on “Dancing with the Stars.”

The former “Bachelorette,” who got her start coming in fourth place on Season 27 of “The Bachelor” with Zach Shallcross, recently spoke about her time on the dance competition series in a conversation on the “Sex, Lies and Spray Tans” podcast.

A child and family therapist, Lawson told podcast host and former “DWTS” pro Cheryl Burke that she was surprised the show didn’t have an on-set therapist.

“Honestly I’m very surprised because quite literally, while ‘Dancing with the Stars’ was great, I literally went through hell and back with my mental health on that show,” Lawson said.

She pushed back a bit when Burke said she found it “shocking” that Lawson had suffered from online bullying during her time competing with dance pro Artem Chigvintsev. The two ended the season in fourth place.

“Is it shocking? I don’t know if it’s shocking,” Lawson said on the podcast. “I think to a certain degree it was expected.”

Being one of the few women of color to be “The Bachelorette,” Lawson thought she was prepared to experience possible racism competing on “DWTS.”

And while she thought it would “be a piece of cake” due to her past reality TV experience, Lawson said it was “almost to the point where it was so much worse than ‘Bachelor’ and ‘Bachelorette’.”

“I was getting death threats for existing,” she said.

Lawson got emotional and explained why she was speaking out now.

“I have to go through this life as a Black woman and being on a reality TV show,” she said. “It’s like the same things are just not protected.”

CNN has reached out to representatives for “The Bachelorette” and “Dancing with the Stars” for comment.

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