Betsy Andreu, who testified that Lance Armstrong had used banned substances, is slamming the cyclist’s much-hyped interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired Thursday on OWN.
During the interview, Armstrong admitted to using banned substances, but flatly denied he encouraged his teammates on the U.S. Postal Service cycling team to dope. Andreu told CNN’s Anderson Cooper this denial left her “really disappointed.”
“You owed it to me Lance, and you dropped the ball,” she said. “After what you’ve done to me, and what you’ve done to my family.”
VIDEO: Lance Armstrong Admits to Oprah: Yes, I Used Banned Substances
Andreu and her husband, Frankie, a former cycling teammate of Armstrong’s, were among the earliest people to publicly accuse the cyclist of doping. In 2006, they testified that in 1996 they witnessed Armstrong tell doctors he had used banned substances, including EPO and steroids.
Armstrong attacked the couple in the media, denying their claims for years. During his interview with Winfrey, he admitted to having called Andreu “crazy” and “a bitch.”
“I called you crazy. I called you a bitch. I called you all of these things, but I never called you fat,” he said, recalling a phone conversation the two recently had. He acknowledged that phone call would not be enough to repair the years of damage done to his relationship with the couple.
Watching the footage on CNN, Cooper said his “jaw dropped” when he saw that part of the interview.
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Andreu said Armstrong was going about seeking redemption the wrong way.
“That exchange right there. It has me furious,” she said. “This is a guy that used to be my friend, who decimated me. He could have come clean. He owed it to me. He owes it to the sport that he destroyed.”
Part two of Winfrey’s OWN interview with Armstrong airs and streams online Friday at 9 p.m. ET.
Watch the video below.
