Lea Thompson recalls 'intense' “DWTS” partner Artem Chigvintsev saying 'men are better than women'
The actress also compared her experience on the dancing competition show to "The Hunger Games."
Lea Thompson is looking back on her time on Dancing With the Stars — and her partnership with "intense" professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev, who was recently arrested on suspicion of domestic violence.
On the latest episode of former DWTS pro Cheryl Burke's Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast, Thompson said she was shocked by the news of Chigvintsev's arrest, though she also recalled something strange that he had once said to her.
"Whatever this is that has happened to him, it's actually really surprising to me," the Back to the Future and Caroline in the City star said. "I don't know what happened. The one really crazy thing he said to me, that made me think about it, was I remember him telling me that men are much better than women. And I said, why? And he said, 'Because they're stronger.'"
Adam Taylor/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Lea Thompson and Artem Chigvintsev on 'Dancing With the Stars'Related: Cheryl Burke reacts to Dancing With the Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev's arrest: 'It's so shocking'
Thompson said she had an immediate comeback to the sexist remark: "I was like, but they don't have babies. I've had a baby."
Burke went even further. "What is he talking about?" she said. "[Men] can't even handle any pain whatsoever."
A representative for Chigvintsev couldn't be reached for immediate comment by Entertainment Weekly via phone or email Monday.
Chigvinstev, 42, was arrested Aug. 29 at his home in Napa County, Calif., on charges of corporal injury to spouse; he was subsequently released on $25,000 bail. Neither Chigvinstev nor his wife, Nikki Garcia, have publicly spoken about the arrest. A rep for Garcia told PEOPLE, "This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time."
EW has learned that Chigvinstev will not participate in the upcoming 33rd season of DWTS, with a source saying that there were never plans for him to do so.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
On Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans, Thompson, 63, recalled Chigvintsev being an unyielding dancer to work with. Season 19 was his first season as a pro dancer on the show, after previously working on the British predecessor Strictly Come Dancing. Thompson and Chigvintsev also lacked a shared frame of reference when it came to dancing. Although she trained in ballet for years when she was younger, he had only ever done ballroom.
"It was hard working with him because it was his first year and it was a big deal to him," Thompson said. "He was so intense. It was so much more important to him than to me, honestly. And so that made me really nervous. Like, it made me crazy after a while… It was also really, really hard for me because I was a ballet dancer and on the first day he was like, 'I've never taken any of that stuff'… He was implacable."
Not all of Thompson's challenges on DWTS stemmed from her pairing with Chigvintsev. Last-minute changes from the TV production could also throw her off.
"There was also a Hunger Games part of it because they did some really crappy things to me," Thompson said. "Like one time, we were just about to shoot and Artem was wearing a powder blue coat. We'd already preshot something, but right before we went on they said, 'Artem has to take off his coat.' And I had to do one of those big lifts that that you worm down their body in your with all those crystals on, and I couldn't slide down his body."
EW has reached out to Dancing With the Stars reps for comment on Thompson's remarks.
Listen to the full episode of Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans above.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
