Andy Richter is calling out online trolls who targeted his fellow Season 34 “Dancing with the Stars” competitor Hilaria Baldwin.
Richter shared a selfie video Oct. 8 on Instagram that showed him sitting in the driver’s seat of a car. At first, the 58-year-old comedian thanked fans for the “love and good will” they’ve shown him and his pro dance partner, Emma Slater, and added he was looking forward to performing the pair’s salsa next week.
Richter then went on to call out haters who’ve posted “awful, brutal things” about Baldwin, 41, who was eliminated on the show’s Oct. 7 episode after being ranked in the bottom three contestants alongside Richter and former “Boy Meets World” star Danielle Fishel.
“She went home last night and that sucks. You know, nobody on that show wants anybody to go home,” Richter said. “Everybody there works just as hard as everybody else and they all deserve to be there.”
“I just don’t know why people have to be so mean,” he went on, adding that he’d been on social media “a long time” and he knew “what the internet is like.”
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In the past, Richter admitted, he’d “been involved in some of those pile-ons” of negativity. “Sometimes it’s fun to say terrible s—,” he reasoned.
“But these are people. With families and kids,” he said. “And these awful things that get said, they’re heard by real people and they hurt real people.”
Richter laughed in disbelief while reminding fans, “This is a dance contest.”
“It doesn’t make it satisfying to move on (to the next week round of he competition) when you see your fellow contestants being treated so sh—-,” he said.
“So, just please don’t be mean,” he concluded. “There’s enough meanness in the world and we don’t need it in a ballroom dance competition.”
Baldwin, who is the wife of actor Alec Baldwin, responded to Richter’s video in the comments of his post by writing, “Love you Andy.”
She also posted a message to her Instagram story about the video, thanking Richter directly.
“It means a lot that you are standing with me against bullies. It is a brave thing to do. I am grateful for your kindness and friendship. I can’t wait to cheer you all this coming Tuesday,” she wrote.
She also addressed behavior she characterized as “bullying” on the “Dancing with the Stars” podcast after her elimination.
“This has nothing to do with me and the dance competition, cause I love all the women who are on this and get to continue to dance tomorrow,” the yoga instructor said. “It has to do with what I’ve seen this past week with my name, with what people have done to me, and they don’t know me.”
Also this week, “Dancing with the Stars” pro Ezra Sosa came to the defense of his partner Jordan Chiles as she faced accusations of being a “mean girl.”
“Honestly, it couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said, in part.
RHOP’s Wendy Osefo Addresses Fallout With Karen Huger, If They’ve Spoken & Defends Stacey, Plus Suggests Keiarna’s Beef is for the Cameras
The Real Housewives of Potomac recently returned for its 10th season on Bravo. Now, Wendy Osefo is opening up about her status with Karen Huger, Stacey Rusch’s dynamic with the ladies, and more in a new interview.
As fans know, season 9 of RHOP ended on a bit of a sour note between Wendy and Karen. This came when the “Grand Dame” sent in a video message for the reunion and essentially ignored Wendy, despite her being one of her most significant supporters in the group.
Wendy recently appeared on the Gabbing with Gib podcast, which is hosted by Gibson Johns and was recorded before her shocking arrest for fraud just days ago. One of the most notable moments came when he asked if she had been in touch with Karen since her release from jail.
Wendy responded, “I have not. No.” He then asked if she sees a path forward with Karen. She stated, “I can always see a path forward, but it’s really something where it’s on her.”
She continued, “You know, she showed me that she really doesn’t value my friendship. She showed me that even though I’ve supported her through her fourth DUI, and I was one of the only people in the group who never said anything ill of her or bad about her, she threw me under the bus and showed that she didn’t want or value me as a person.
She added, “So, I’ll be interested to hear what she has to say because I have not done anything to her.”
Next, the topic of Stacey comes up and how she felt that Ashley Darby and Gizelle Bryant her ganging up on her. When asked if she agrees with Stacey, Wendy said, “Are you kidding? Absolutely yes.”
She went on, “I have been on the receiving end of that a few times, so I do agree with her and that stance that Stacey takes, funny enough, is the stance that I really take as I traverse the season.”
Wendy continued, “You will see the Stacey of it all through season 10.” Still, she says there is nothing wrong with questioning your friends, but it’s the manner in which you do so that matters.
Wendy went on to say that she stands up for Stacey in this way as the season progresses. She added, “I’m not saying Stacey’s right. I’m not saying Stacey’s wrong, but we’re not even able to get to that because of the way in which we’re approaching it.”
Lastly, she spoke about her issue with Keiarna Stewart. Wendy said, “I think it’s a one-sided beef, and it’s really unfortunate because I really liked her.”
Wendy then said, “It took me by surprise because two weeks before we’re filing, we’re laughing, kekeing, having a good time. Cameras come up, and now you have a problem with me. That’s very odd to me.”
She said her beef with K is odd to her because she never said anything to her before the cameras began to roll for the season. Wendy also said she was “thrown off” by the whole thing.
The Real Housewives of Potomac airs on Sunday nights.
