Defiant Oti Mabuse has sent a message to the racists who target her because of her work on Strictly, declaring that their hate just makes her more determined to succeed.
The 31-year-old dancer, who has won Strictly twice, told the Radio Times: “The hard stuff that I’ve been through, with the racism and discrimination, is proof that people still have a lot to learn.
“The more hate I receive, the more of a reason it is to carry on doing my job. I have to show young girls that anything is possible. I have to fight, and be strong.”
Oti joined Strictly as a pro dancer in 2015 and first won the BBC competition with Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher in 2019, then the following year took the Glitterball again, with comic Bill Bailey.
But Oti revealed: “I’ve faced some backlash while performing on the show.
“I’ve never really spoken about it because I’ve tried for so long to think about it this way: I work on a show 10 million people love; if 10 or 100 people aren’t nice to me, that is not representative of everyone else’s view.
“It’s taken years for me to get that into my head.
“To get tweeted or receive a message in my inbox being racially abusive, or fat-shaming me, is horrible. But it’s written by a person who can’t even face themselves in the mirror.”
The TV favourite also hosts a BBC Radio 4 podcast called Dancing Legends about her inspirations, speaking to some of the biggest names in dance alongside some of her personal heroes.
South African Oti said her biggest inspiration was her older sister, Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse, 40, because she had become the first black girl to travel overseas and become a dance champion.
In 2013, Motsi won the German Latin dance contest with the Ukrainian dancer Evgenij Voznyuk.
Like Motsi, Oti competed in Let’s Dance, the German version of Strictly before joining the BBC show. In the last Strictly series, Oti was paired with rugby union hero Ugo Monye, finishing in 11th place.
She has now replaced actor John Barrowman as a judge on ITV ’s Dancing On Ice.
This month, while promoting Dancing On Ice, Oti was forced to tap dance around questions about her future.
In what many took to be confirmation that she had competed for the last time on Strictly Come Dancing, she said “an announcement would be made” about her role.
She later added: “I think for me as a person in entertainment, I really want to learn and grow.
“I want a long career, especially in this country having moved all the way from Africa.
“I just really have to make something of myself.
“I am really trying to learn and do as much as I can for as long as I can while I can.”
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