Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse gets candid about racist trolling
Motsi Mabuse has opened up about the racist trolling she has received since joining Strictly Come Dancing.
The professional dancer joined Strictly’s judging panel in 2019, alongside fellow stars Craig Revel Horwood, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas.
However, despite earning the position due to her judging credits on German show Let’s Dance, Motsi has confessed that she received criticism from some Strictly viewers, as they claimed that she was only given the judging role because of the colour of her skin.
Motsi, who is also the sister of two-time Strictly pro champion Oti Mabuse, appeared on the Reign podcast earlier this week to discuss her career so far.
During the interview, host Josh Smith asked her about her experiences with racism from Strictly trolls.
“What I really, really, really, really dislike is when people are like, 'She got it because she's black’. It takes away from every black woman and in my example, it takes away my experience,” the 42-year-old explained.
“It takes away my quality. It takes away everything that I have been through and marched on through to be there,” she added.
Motsi then went on to detail why she dislikes being given a label by trolls.
“When you just see the label, 'Oh she's black, you know the first Strictly black judge, the first this,' it takes away 15 years of experience as a judge. It takes away 30 years of my experience as a dancer,” she admitted.
“Maybe my experience as a dancer is not your experience, but maybe my growth coming from South Africa and going through all levels is a different kind of experience, which gives me a different side of the ball,” she continued.
“Everything needs to become a normality without saying, 'Oh my gosh, we've got one black person, we've got a same sex couple, we've got this,' the labels, this is what we all really need to get over,” Motsi concluded.
