Actress Lea Thompson recalls DWTS fame Artem Chigvintsev’s “Men are much better than Women” remark

Lea Thompson recently spoke about her dance partner from Dancing With the Stars aka DWTS season 19 (2014), Artem Chigvintsev. The 63-year-old actress, singer, dancer, and director was invited to S*x, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast by Cheryl Burke, another DWTS professional dancer.

During the podcast on September 9, 2024, Lea reflected on the time she spent on the show, and her opinions on Artem's arrest. While she was shocked about his arrest, she recalled a comment he had made while she was on the reality show. According to Lea, Artem told her:

"Men are much better than women".

For the unversed, DWTS fame Artem Chigvintsev was arrested on allegations of domestic violence. The 42-year-old professional dancer appeared on the coveted show for more than 10 seasons, alongside some popular celebrities.

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Lea Thompson talks about her experience of working with DWTS star Artem Chigvintsev

In the podcast, Lea brought up Artem's statement after she said she was shocked to hear that he was arrested on domestic violence allegations. However, what he had told her propped up in her brain and made her think. She explained that when he said men were better, she asked him why he thought so and he replied:

"Because they're stronger".

Thompson quipped that men can't have babies but she's had one. Chiming in on Thompson's sentiments, the podcast host Burke questioned Artem's thoughts and said men couldn't take any pain whatsoever.

Lea further talked about her run on DWTS with Artem. She revealed that season 19 was Artem's first season, so he was very "intense" with his routines. However, they clashed because she had taken ballet dancing classes for several years while he didn't know more than ballroom dancing. Talking about it, she said:

"It was hard working with him because it was his first year and it was a big deal to him. 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".

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The aftermath of DWTS fame Artem Chigvintsev's arrest on domestic violence allegations

Entertainment Weekly reported that Artem Chigvintsev was arrested on August 29, at his house in Napa County, California on the allegations of inflicting injury to his spouse. He was later released on a $25,000 bail.

Artem is now married to WWE wrestler, Nikki Garcia. They got into a relationship after Nikki became Artem's partner in DWTS season 25, which premiered in 2017. The couple tied the knot in 2022. The duo also have a 4-year-old son, Matteo.

Right before he was arrested, Artem uploaded an anniversary post on his Instagram, on August 26, 2024. He shared a picture from his wedding day and captioned it:

"Happy anniversary my love, can’t see my life with out you. You are my everything".

A representative for Nikki Garcia refused to comment on the incident and asked for privacy when People magazine tried contacting her. Meanwhile, TMZ reported that Nikki's friends described their relationship as "volatile" and she was looking for a divorce lawyer to end her two-year-old marriage.