Oti hits back, insisting Strictly is NOT racist
STRICTLY star Oti Mabuse has hit back at critics who accuse the show of racism because black performers are often voted off early.
Professional dancer Ms Mabuse, 28, said: ‘There are only two of us – two black dancers. But we are the most saucy. It’s about people wanting to watch us and enjoy us.
‘ People appreciate us and t hey love us for our work and how we dance. That’s it. It isn’t about race, it’s about dancing.’
Death In Paradise actor Danny-John Jules, who appeared on Strictly last year, accused the judges of favouring white dancers, saying: ‘They always get off the black guy first.’ And in 2017, former JLS singer Aston Merrygold – who has a Jamaican father and Anglo-Irish mother – was voted off in week seven despite a string of brilliant performances.
But Ms Mabuse, who was born in South Africa and has emerged as a star in her own right on BBC1’s The Greatest Dancer, said: ‘Race shouldn’t even come into any of this.
‘We are all integrated and that’s the most important thing.’