I can’t rule out racism in Strictly voting, shocked Rutherford says
VOTING patterns on Strictly Come Dancing could be the result of racism, Greg Rutherford has said.
Fears that ethnic minority contestants have been discriminated against cannot be ruled out, the Olympic gold medallist admitted.
Fans have previously cried foul over the elimination of Naga Munchetty, Melvin Odoom and Tameka Empson.
Similar suspicions have lingered for years, after non-white contestants appeared to be ejected despite receiving higher marks than their rivals.
Rutherford, who is still in the competition, said it was impossible to rule out racism, but others called the row “ludicrous”.
“I can’t say it’s not racism, but mainly because it’s not my world,” Rutherford told the Mirror website. “I’d like to think the British public are better than that but I honestly don’t know. It’s entertainment, and that’s just not my world. In athletics it doesn’t matter what colour you are, it’s just how high you jump or fast you run.”
Bruno Tonioli, one of the judges, has previously said: “The so-called ‘racism row’ over Melvin, then Tameka leaving is ludicrous. This series is so competitive every vote makes a difference. If you don’t vote you can’t moan.”
The BBC has pointed out that there has been a black or mixed-race winner or runner-up in all but three of its 13 se- ries so far. “Judges judge the dancing and the dancing alone,” a spokesman has said.
Contestants were yesterday engaged in interviews ahead of tonight’s show, with Rutherford, who won gold at the London 2012 games and bronze in Rio, confessing he had struggled to take on a sport he does not naturally excel in.
Ed Balls, meanwhile, told the Radio 1 breakfast show that he is left out when his younger rivals hit the town.
“You don’t finish [filming] until 11 o’clock at night, and luckily there’s a tent with a bar so you can finally chill out,” he said. “The difference is that the contestants my age then go home and go to bed, and the young celebrities go down to Camden or central London and I think go through to the morning.
“Really sadly, they’ve not invited me. I don’t know what it is. I mean, there’s this awkward moment about midnight and people slip out and I stand there and nobody really says goodbye because they all want to leave without people noticing. It’s really tragic.”
He added: “Maybe tomorrow night’s the night? I wouldn’t mind doing it once. I’m going to talk to them. Stop excluding me!”
The former politician also disclosed he had scheduled in his first spray tan, having previously promised not to fall for the all-glittering Strictly outfits.
Brendan Cole, who is partnering Anastacia, has pulled out of performing on Strictly Come Dancing this weekend, after suffering a lung infection.