Reality star Charity Lawson went through ‘hell and back’ during Dancing With the Stars

Former Bachelorette contestant Charity Lawson can attest to the “different” treatment Black women often experience in the reality TV world in comparison with their white counterparts.

Lawson, 29, who first rose to fame when she became a fan favorite on Season 27 of “The Bachelor” and again when she starred in her own season of “The Bachelorette,” is a seasoned veteran who has made history. She ended her season by getting engaged to Dotun Olubeko, the first black couple in franchise history.

Given her experience with Bachelor Nation, as the franchise’s massive and very energetic fan base is understood, Lawson felt she was greater than able to tackle Dancing With the Stars. However, she said the experience was “significantly worse.”

As a guest on the podcast “Sex, lies and spray tansLawson said she first spoke out about online trolls harassing her to the point she needed help from a therapist on set.

“Even though ‘Dancing with the Stars’ was great, being on this show put me through hell and brought me back to my mental health,” she told host and former ‘Dancing with the Stars’ star Cheryl Burke.

She explained: “I got death threats for existing… for not doing well, for being conceited, for feeling entitled. It was so damaging, night after night.”

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Lawson, who also works as a family therapist, believes she was perceived as conceited and entitled, partially due to how often black women experience bias when expressing emotion. She also blames editing packages from producers.

“It kind of built up to me bragging and bragging about my results, but I only talk about them because you asked me to,” Lawson said. “It was really frustrating when I started seeing my packaging painted like that. It almost skews the audience in a way that, ‘All she cares about is results,’ (and) ‘She thinks she’s better than everyone.’”

When Burke asked how she ultimately managed to complete fourth, Lawson said she eventually stopped scrolling, muted essential accounts, and limited her own posts on the show. Lawson also described making some attempts to debate the issue with executives, but was unclear in explaining their responses.

Burke expressed shock when she heard about Lawson’s experiences, but in addition noted that she at all times thought there ought to be a “dance doctor” on the show.

“Is it shocking? I don’t know if it’s shocking,” Lawson said on the podcast. “I think it was expected to some extent.”