Strictly Shirley’s terror over online threats
Shirley Ballas has discovered just how dark fame can be...
‘Sending vile abusive tweets and death threats is totally out of order’
StrictlyCome Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has had a pretty shocking time of it lately, after it emerged that she has been the target of sick death threats online.
The 59-year-old was targeted by trolls after Dianne Buswell and radio presenter Dev Griffin were booted off the hit BBC show on Sunday 13 October, in a shock move that proved controversial.
Some irate viewers, amidst accusations of voting lines being rigged and judges under-marking, allegedly threatened to hurt Shirley, who had the deciding vote. Professional dancer
Dianne, 30, taking to Twitter, pleaded with people to stop ‘ bullying’ the head judge, when responding to a tweet about death threats.
A concerned fan wrote: ‘please sort your fans out @dbuzz6589 & @Joe_Sugg. I get why people are upset & I don’t think it was @dev_101’s time to go. But sending vile abusive tweets & death threats to @ ShirleyBallas is totally out of order. Imagine if it was a member of your family on the receiving end.’
Dianne quickly responded, saying: ‘Guys this is terrible, you cannot be bullying like this. It’s awful and really upsets me to hear this. It’s simply not OK and should never happen!’
And Liverpool dance champ Shirley sparked health fears when she posted a snap to her Instagram, hooked up to a drip. It emerged that she was having a vitamin treatment as she felt ‘under the weather’ after a ‘tough week’.
As a result, Shirley begged fans to be ‘ kind’, telling her followers: ‘Let’s try to be kind to everyone, someone has to go home. Let’s try to work together as a team...’
She’s right. Strictly may be everyone’s guilty pleasure – but none of its judges should face abuse and have their personal safety threatened.