From the moment he popped that American flag grill in his mouth to when he strutted around in those red, white and blue shoes with wings, the disappointment set in that Ryan Lochte was in fact a waterlogged tool – a patriotic one that is.
At the London Olympics last summer, it became apparent the swimmer was more dedicated to being an attention-seeker than an Olympian.
Following the games, Lochte’s newfound fame was obvious – whether because of his 11 Olympic medals or voicing his interest in being on ABC’s “The Bachelor” and designing a fashion line. Unfortunately, media and fans wooed over his overrated celebrity status instead of his underrated athletic potential.
And some TV networks bit the bait. The swimmer guest starred on the CW’s “90210” and NBC’s “30 Rock.”
Now Lochte has landed on the pile of fame that he’s been begging for. E! is slated to air a six-episode reality show in April about the Olympian called “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?”
The show is expected to follow Lochte through his training at the University of Florida with coach Gregg Troy for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, designing his fashion line and searching for a girlfriend.
As if it’s not enough of a disgrace that Lochte got his own show by basically waving his hands in the air yelling, “Pick me!” why would E! make a pun out of the show by equating the title to the phrase “What would Jesus do?” This will only fuel Lochte’s ego even more.
Granted, E! airs shows with casts who’ve gained fame from others, such as the Kardashians catching fame due to their father defending O.J. Simpson and the Eastwoods getting airtime because Clint Eastwood heads the household. So I’m glad to see the network branching out to some talent that has actually done something to earn the media’s attention.
After all, we can’t discredit Lochte for his triumphs in the pool. But is he really worthy of his own TV show? If anything, I’m sure viewers would be far more interested in the Fab Five or the greatest Olympian in history, Michael Phelps. Why Lochte? What’s the fascination with the “Jeah” sputtering, tacky-outfitted swimmer anyway?
E! Entertainment president Suzanne Kolb shed some light on the network’s reason.
“Ryan Lochte captured everyone’s attention at the Summer Olympics with his athletic prowess and his utterly unique and unaffected approach to life,” Kolb said in a statement. “Watching this show, I believe people will fall into three categories: they want to be him, sleep with him or mother him.”
Gag.
The only thing I’ll be wanting to do is change the channel.
Lochte would do best to focus on what put him in the spotlight in the first place, his swimming. That way he could represent the U.S. in a respectable light instead of drowning our clothing racks and TV screens with his starvation for stardom.