Andy Richter exposes the online trolls who attacked his co-star in Season 34 “Dancing with the Stars” competitor Hilaria Baldwin.
Richter shared a selfie video on October 8. on Instagram in it he was sitting in the driver's seat of a car. The 58-year-old comedian first thanked fans for the “love and goodwill” they had shown him and his dance partner Emma Slater, adding that he was looking forward to performing the couple's salsa next week.
Richter then lashed out at the haters who posted “horrible, cruel things” about Baldwin, 41, who was eliminated from the show's Oct. 7 episode after finishing in the bottom three with Richter and former “Boy Meets World” star Danielle Fischel.
“She came home last night and it sucks. You know, no one on this show wants anyone to go home,” Richter said. “Everyone there works just as hard as everyone else, and they all deserve to be there.”
“I just don’t understand why people have to be so angry,” he continued, adding that he had been on social media “for a long time” and knew “what the Internet is.”
In the past, Richter admitted, he “was caught up in some of these surges” of negativity. “Sometimes it feels good to say terrible shit,” he reasoned.
“But these are people. With families and children,” he said. “And these terrible things that are said are heard by real people, and they hurt real people.”
Richter laughed in disbelief, reminding fans, “This is a dance competition.”
“It's not nice for me to move on (to the next week's round of competition) when you see your opponents being treated so crap,” he said.
“So please don’t be mean,” he concluded. “There’s enough meanness in the world that we don’t need it at a ballroom dance competition.”
Baldwin, wife of actor Alec Baldwin, responded to Richter's video in the comments of his post, writing, “Love you Andy.”
She also posted on her Instagram Story about the video, thanking Richter directly.
“The fact that you stand with me against bullies means a lot. This is a brave move. I am grateful for your kindness and friendship. Can't wait to cheer you all up this coming Tuesday,” she wrote.
She also addressed behavior she described as “bullying” to “Podcast “Dancing with the Stars” after its elimination.
“This has nothing to do with me and the dance competition because I love all the women who participate in it and tomorrow I will continue to dance,” the yoga instructor said. “It has to do with what I saw last week under my name, what people did to me, but they don’t know me.”
Also this week”“Dancing with the Stars” pro Ezra Sosa comes to his defense her partner Jordan Chiles when she faced accusations that she was a “mean girl”.
“To be honest, this is very far from the truth,” he said, in part.
