Lea Thompson Recalls Horribly Sexist Remark Made By ‘DWTS’ Partner Artem Chigvintsev

Lea Thompson says that when her former “Dancing with the Stars” partner Artem Chigvintsev was arrested last month, she was surprised. But she was also reminded of a “weird” opinion he once shared with her.

“The one really crazy thing that he said to me was — that made me think about [his arrest] … I remember him telling me that men are much better than women,” Thompson recalled a little over an hour into Monday’s episode of Cheryl Burke’s podcast “Sex, Lies and Spray Tan.”

Thompson was partnered with Chigvintsev in 2014 on Season 19 of the long-running dance competition show.

The “Back to the Future” alum said that when she questioned Chigvintsev about why he thought men were better than women, he replied, “because they’re stronger.”

Thompson remembered rebuffing the comment by pointing out that women give birth, causing Burke to scoff in agreement.

When Burke asked the “Caroline in the City” star what caused Chigvintsev to share this sexist opinion, Thompson was a bit stumped.

“I don’t know, but I just remember being like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re saying that,’” Thompson said. “That was such a weird thing to say. … But I just mostly felt like he was, like, super nervous and couldn’t show it, and so that kind of got, you know, transmitted to me.”

Chigvintsev was arrested in late August in Napa County, California, on suspicion of domestic violence. He was released after posting bail set at $25,000. No victim was identified, and it’s unclear if his wife — WWE alum Nikki Bella, who goes by the name Nikki Garcia professionally — was involved in the incident.

Thompson also told Burke that she figured that Chigvintsev might have changed his opinion about women after he met his future wife, with whom he was partnered on Season 25 of “DWTS” in 2017.

The actor recalled watching a dance the two did together on the show in which Garcia “flipped him over and threw him on the ground … you know, she did a wrestling move … you’re letting her show that she’s as strong as you! So, I thought that was kind of cool.”

Elsewhere in the episode, the “Switched at Birth” star did make several comments about Chigvintsev being “intense” to work with.

“It was hard working with him because he was… it was his first year, and it was a big deal to him,” Thompson said 47 minutes into the episode. “He was so intense. … It was so much more important to him than to me, honestly.”

Although Thompson chalks up some of his ferocity to what she describes as the “Hunger Games”-like vibes on the set of “DWTS,” she also attributed some of his attitude towards his upbringing and dance training.

“Some of the things he would say to me were like, just being Russian — and being a ballet dancer and having Russian dance teachers who were always very difficult … it just got to be really hard,” Thompson said. She explained that she was a ballet dancer and a modern dancer herself, but said their dance backgrounds did not mesh.

Yet Thompson told Burke that she was surprised by Chigvintsev’s arrest, saying he did seem like a “sweet” guy despite his intensity.

Burke — who has been a professional dancer on “DTWS” on and off for years — also expressed shock by Chigvintsev’s arrest on an Aug. 30 episode of her podcast.

“We used to live together in my family’s home in the Bay Area. It’s so shocking. I get kind of emotional. My heart goes out to everyone involved,” she said, per People.

“It’s just really hard for me because he was — he’s my family,” Burke added at the time. “I don’t know what to say here other than I hope everybody’s okay.”

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.