Before Dancing With The Stars’ 500th episode aired Tuesday night, we talked about the “surprises” we anticipated — but one massive surprise we did not anticipate was embattled former pro Artem Chigvintsev just chilling in the audience.
Late on Tuesday night, we recapped DWTS’ 500th episode, and it truly was an action-packed spectacle.
If you’ve been following Dancing With The Stars, you’re probably up to speed on Artem’s relevance to the show and why his appearance came as such a surprise, but just in case, we’ll recap it.
Editor’s note:
This article contains a brief mention of domestic violence, or may be otherwise triggering to survivors. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please visit thehotline.org to connect with confidential help. Assistance is available 24/7/365.
Back in late August, DWTS fans were shocked to learn that Artem had been arrested on felony domestic violence charges.
Within days, sources who claimed to be friends with Artem and his now-estranged wife, Nikki Garcia (also known as Nikki Bella) came forward to talk about their marriage, and by mid-September, Nikki had filed for divorce.
At the time, Artem wasn’t yet attached to Season 33 of Dancing With The Stars – nor was Jenn Tran, whose participation was announced in September – so it’s difficult to speculate productively about whether the arrest impacted his involvement with this particular season.
In the week leading up to DWTS’ 500th episode, Artem was in the news due to a recent court filing for his ongoing divorce from Nikki, and US Magazine paraphrased its allegations.
In a filing dated October 31, Artem reiterated his earlier allegations that Nikki was the aggressor, not him:
“It is not true that I have not been able to find other work as a dancer. I normally start jobs in November and it goes for 20 weekends. After the mugshot and the arrest based on her false allegations, I was taken off the website faculty list resulting in loss of over $100K in income.
“I also lost the social media promotion revenue, which she continues to benefit from as she was more worried about her career when she lied to the police than mine … She is the one with the temper. I try to stay quiet and avoid it. She yells, and [during the incident in late August, Nikki] was yelling, pursuing me, and was the one who attacked me. It is further a lie that I was growing increasingly angry, snapping at her, and yelling. I was not violent with her and did not violently grab or yell at her.”
The charges against Artem were dropped in September, and in a statement, Napa County’s District Attorney said in part: “If the available evidence doesn’t rise to this level of proof, then we cannot ethically file charges.”
Not long after the charges were dropped, Nikki sought a restraining order and Artem followed suit, and their divorce remains pending.
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Artem’s Dancing With The Stars Appearance Divided Fans
As Dancing With The Stars aired, fans gathered to discuss developments as they occurred.
Late Tuesday night, a user on Reddit’s r/dancingwiththestars shared a post, “ARTEM IS THERE,” after spotting him in the crowd on social media.
Another user shared a screenshot from social media, depicting Artem in the audience:
Unsurprisingly, Artem’s return to DWTS as a spectator was divisive.
The top comment on the thread embedded above managed to succinctly distill the discourse about Artem’s presence:
Several of the comments expressed neutral surprise, like “I didn’t expect him to be there.”
But many more fell into one of two camps — those who believed Artem’s attendance was improper, and those who thought he had every right to be there considering the charges were dropped.
A few users took something of a middle stance, insisting that no one aside from Nikki or Artem knew what occured on the night of his arrest:
“Look, I’m not on anyone’s side here. But I’m just saying that none of us were there and none of us ACTUALLY know what happened. Some of these comments are insane.
“Honestly, we don’t know the truth of what happened. If Artem genuinely is innocent then I feel for him.”
In a subthread, DWTS fans observed that Artem looked a bit tired, as if he’d “been through it.”
One user lashed out at Nikki, taking Artem’s side and claiming to once have been a “fan” of Nikki:
“I find it ironic how no one believes a man can be abused however Nikki has smugly said on her podcast she has slapped around an ex boyfriend before and broke another one’s finger because she was jealous.
“Plus after hearing the 911 call where she is yelling at him for calling 911 and saying ‘way to go Artem you ruined my career’ I don’t believe anything that witch says. I used to be such a fan of hers too.”
Right under that thread, a user sarcastically observed: “You’re shocked a problematic abuser was invited to the ballroom? Well, I got some news for you …”
One person commented “Yikes,” while another said:
“I am literally the last person to ever defend a man but from the information given I don’t think it’s fair to call him an abuser and also not fair to assume Nikki is completely innocent. And I say this as someone who’s a fan of hers[.]”
If one comment had to summarize the tone of the discussion, it was perhaps this: “He deserves to be there. Still shocked he is though!”
Ultimately, aside from screenshots and social media posts, little is known about why Artem was in the Dancing With The Stars audience on Tuesday, or if it has any relevance to his future with the franchise.
- Release Date
- June 1, 2005
- Main Genre
- Reality
- Cast
- Carrie Ann Inaba , Bruno Tonioli , Len Goodman , Tom Bergeron , Cheryl Burke , Tony Dovolani , Derek Hough , Mark Ballas , Karina Smirnoff , Maksim Chmerkovskiy , Kym Johnson , Sasha Farber , Val Chmerkovskiy , Emma Slater , Sharna Burgess
