There’s more to Lamar Odom’s story than meets the eye.
The former NBA star revealed on Monday night’s episode of “Dancing with the Stars” that he struggles with short-term memory loss following his 2015 overdose in Las Vegas.
Odom’s dance partner, Peta Murgatroyd, pointed out that he continuously asked her which steps came next in last week’s Foxtrot that earned the third-lowest score in the program’s history. Odom believes the cognitive issues stem from his “accident.”
Short-term memory loss, he said, is one of the only remaining effects from the overdose. But it’s impacted his ability to do certain things in life, including remembering his routines on “Dancing with the Stars.”
In an essay for People Magazine, Murgatroyd said Odom’s memory loss kicked in once again during his Week 2 Salsa on Monday. The pair received a score of 12 for their performance (a slight improvement from the 11 they received in Week 1), which Murgatroyd defended after the fact.
“I don’t think people really understand when he says he has a ‘memory problem.’ The guy was in a coma and had 12 heart attacks and six strokes. He shouldn’t be living, but by a miracle he is,” she writes. “His memory is the biggest issue we face, not the height. His cognitive ability is slow and it has definitely affected us. Lamar gave me the okay to talk about it openly so I wanted to give you a little insight.”
Odom was spared elimination, and returns to the ballroom Monday.
