Watch: Ryan Lochte calls Rio police’s version of events ‘absurd’ in TV interview to promote reality TV turn
Lochte has been charged by the Brazilian government and is yet to decide if he will return to the country
Ryan Lochte described Rio de Janeiro police’s claims that he and three other American swimmers vandalised a gas station bathroom during the Summer Olympics as “absurd” in a televised interview on Tuesday.
Lochte, who appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America to promote his upcoming stint on Dancing With the Stars, didn’t back down from the core of what he’s said in prior interviews: He was held at gunpoint and armed men demanded the swimmers pay for a damaged sign.
“USA Today and other people have been finding out and investigating,” Lochte said. “There was no damage to the bathroom. I have never even entered the bathroom. It was locked, so we couldn’t go in there at all. The story about me vandalising the bathroom is absurd. It never happened.”
Lochte admitted in the interview that he ripped what one witness told USA Today was a “loosely attached” advertising sign from a wall. Armed security guards intervened and demanded the swimmers pay for the damage.
“I don’t know if it was a robbery or extortion or us just paying up for the poster,” Lochte said.
