Gay comedienne hit by trolls for dancing with a man on Strictly
OPENLY gay Strictly Come Dancing contestant Susan Calman has been targeted by trolls for not having a female professional partner.
After facing criticism on social media, the Scottish comedienne said she was ‘absolutely not disappointed’ she had been paired with Kevin Clifton and it was her decision to dance with a man. The 42-year-old, who married her partner of 14 years in 2012, was forced to defend herself against critics in the lesbian and gay community.
One tweeted: ‘Just a shame Susan. First “out” lesbian on this sooo heterosexual prog and they can’t quite bring themselves yet to have same-sex couples.’
Another posted: ‘It’s 2017, and as usual on #Strictly we’ll be pretending that 2 of the contestants don’t have same-sex partners.’
Miss Calman responded: ‘I did think about dancing with a woman, but from the very first moment when I was asked about the show I said I wanted to dance with a man. People can criticise me all they want. But I’ve worked tirelessly for LGBT equality my whole life and right now I would like to dance and bring entertainment to people by dancing on a Saturday night. Dancing’s not necessarily about sex, it’s acting.
‘When I do a sexy tango with my partner I’ll be acting and, fundamentally, I’ve watched the show for years and I want to learn how to dance.’
In Saturday’s opening show Miss Calman burst into tears when she was partnered by Clifton.
She explained: ‘ I’ve dreamt about being on the show for years, and I’ve always dreamt about dancing with Kevin. I’m so sorry but I feel like I’ve won the Lottery.’ She also revealed she has a poster of him on her fridge door.
She later tweeted: ‘ For the (hopefully) last time … I wanted to dance with a man, I am not being held hostage by the BBC, I’m still well gay and proud of it.’
Her comments came as BBC sources said producers may introduce same-sex dancing partners in the near future. But they will not do so for the current series.
Fellow contestant the Reverend Richard Coles, who is also in a same- sex marriage, confirmed talks have taken place, saying: ‘It makes absolutely no sense that anybody resists the idea, in principle.’ Last year America’s Dancing with the Stars made history when contestant Nyle DiMarco became the first male star to be part of a same- sex dance on the show. Meanwhile, Strictly triumphed over The X Factor in the Saturday night ratings. It attracted an average of 8.8million viewers – more than 3million more than its ITV rival – and peaked at 9.3million.