Andy Richter was beloved by fans during his time on DWTS. They kept voting for him week after week until he was finally sent home in eighth place. Now, he made a claim that he faced “abuse” while competing on the ABC reality competition. Keep reading to find out what he has to say about the situation.

DWTS Season 34 Comes To Conclusion

It all comes down to this. 14 celebrities began the journey in September to win the Mirrorball Trophy. Only five contestants remain ahead of the Season 34 finale. Anyone could win, but one finalist’s injury could put their chances in jeopardy.

A lot of fans wanted to see Andy Richter in the finale. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the scores. Votes from viewers pushed him through several weeks when he was at the bottom of the leaderboard. But viewers couldn’t save him on the show’s 20th anniversary birthday party episode.
‘DWTS’ Andy Richter/Credit: YouTube
His scores caught up with him and he was eliminated. Whitney Leavitt went home the following week, leaving Dylan Efron, Alix Earle, Robert Irwin, Jordan Chiles, and Elaine Hendrix as the final five contestants. Now, Andy Richter is speaking out about the “abuse” he suffered while on the show.

Andy Richter Claims He Faced ‘Abuse’ On Show

Younger DWTS viewers may not have known who Andy Richter was when the show premiered in September. The comedian was a ’90s icon as the sidekick of late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien. He now hosts a podcast on his former co-host and friend’s podcast network.

Andy Richter quickly charmed viewers with his joy at competing on the show. Fans looked beyond his lack of dance moves and saw his heart every time he took the dance floor. But there was so much more going on that fans never got to see.
Andy Richter/Credit: YouTube
The eliminated DWTS star revealed to PEOPLE magazine how he’s still recovering physically and mentally from the reality competition. The comedian turned 58 in October while competing on the show. He was this season’s oldest celebrity. It took a toll on his physical health.

“We’d dance a while and then I’d have to ice my knee, and there was a lot of pain and getting injections just to be able to keep going. So I’m healing. It’s not even just that I’m sort of resting, I feel like my legs are healing now. It wasn’t just exercise, it was borderline abuse that I was doing to myself,” he told the outlet.

Praises His Pro Partner, Emma Slater

Another former Season 34 contestant recently opened up about the “toxic” environment on the set. While Andy Richter said the show was physically difficult, he had nothing but praise for his dancer partner, Emma Slater. He left his comfortable home in Burbank, California, for the grueling dance competition. And he misses it.

He admitted to being in “rehearsal withdrawal” after he was voted off the show. “I really started to feel a sense of accomplishment in learning to do it. And [Slater] made me feel so good about doing it, and she made it so much fun,” he added.

Andy Richter will likely be back in the ballroom to cheer on his former rivals during the season finale on Tuesday, November 25.