Ryan Lochte Isn’t So Golden When It Comes To Television Hosting

Ryan Lochte is smooth and dominant in the pool. But take him out of the water and put a microphone in his hand and it’s a different story.

The Olympic gold medalist was hired by E! News to be a correspondent for New York Fashion Week, a decision some people think the cable network is coming to regret, The Atlantic Wire reported.

Ryan Locghe is not doing too well at reporting, but sources from E! told the New York Post‘s Page Six that reports the network is unhappy with the swimmer are overblown.

But even the network’s defense of Ryan Lochte seemed couched.

“[Lochte] is doing a great job,” the source said, before adding, “It would be unreasonable to expect him to suddenly morph into a seasoned journalist, just as it would be unreasonable to think a journalist could win a gold medal, but it doesn’t mean they can’t take a dip in the pool!”

Here is how The Atlantic Wire interpreted the statement:

Haha, so that’s basically saying, “Yes he’s the living worst at this, but what did you expect? It’s Ryan Lochte, c’mon. Give the goon a break.”

Ryan Lochte has been busy at fashion week, sitting in the front row at Joseph Abboud and attending a party in honor of shoe designer Brian Atwood’s new Madison Avenue store. He has attracted onlookers during his appearances and mingled with the like of Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Heidi Klum, Gabrielle Union, and Rachel Zoe.

During his time in New York, Lochte also filmed a cameo for 30 Rock and is even working on his own clothing line that will be “hopefully be up and running within the year.”

“I want that sleek Ralph Lauren Purple Label look, but I want some edge to it,” Ryan Lochte said of his yet-to-be-released line.