Strictly Come Dancing pro Dianne Buswell has defended head judge Shirley Ballas after she was blasted by show fans for calling her by the wrong name for the second time this series. The Australian professional dancer took to Instagram on Sunday say Shirley's blunder didn't offend her.
And the star pleaded with viewers to stop 'bullying' her co-star. Taking to her Instagram Dianne, who is partnered with Kiss FM DJ Tyler West on the BBC dance contest, pleaded with fans to 'be kind.'
She penned: "'Firstly thank you guys so much for all the support on our dance last night. It was a tough week but I am forever in awe of the hard work and dedication Tyler brings every single week.
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"Another point want to address is I have seen a lot of hateful comments aimed at Shirley for simply adding an a to the end of my name which doesn't offend me, but what does make me upset is seeing someone being bullied online."
She added: "'We are all human and doing the best we can. Let's all please be kind to one another and not put each other down. Once again thank you for all your positive messages it really does mean a lot to us all."
Dianne also added in her caption: "A friendly reminder to Please be kind guys I don’t think we realise how some comments can effect us no matter how strong we are as people. #bekind."
Show host Claudia Winkleman responded with a stream of love hearts and fellow pro dancer Gorka Marquez replied with applause emojis. Katya Jones, who is partnered with former Arsenal footballer Tony Adams, also urged: "Be kind."
Shirley was praising Dianne and Tyler West after their performance on Saturday night's live show when fans noticed the mix-up. "I think that you give Dianna room to show her fluidity," she told Tyler.
Two weeks ago fans couldn't believe their ears when Shirley previously called Dianne 'Diana' as she critiqued their performance. @louise34hickman tweeted during Saturday night's live show (November 5): "It’s DIANNE!! Not Dianna." And @RyanGSoapKing11 pointed out: "Shirley it's Diane not Dianna."
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