Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Johannes Radebe revealed in his new book that he was stopped after a performance by the police for looking “suspicious”.
While on the Strictly Live tour, the 36-year-old said he was approached by officers. He recalls that the incident “felt like a slap in the face”.
The event took place in Aberdeen in 2019.
Johannes Radebe on police incident
At the time of the incident, Johannes was on the phone with his mother. Writing in his new memoir, Jojo: Finally Home, Johannes recalled the experience.
“A police van pulled up into the parking lot where I was sitting,” he wrote in the book, according to the Mirror.
‘Is there something wrong?’ I asked one of them. ‘No, you look suspicious and like someone we are looking for.
“Two officers got out of the car. I said, ‘Mummy, they are walking over to me’. ‘What did you do wrong?’ she asked. I felt stung. ‘Nothing’, I said,” Johannes continued. “When they came over I showed my ID. ‘Is there something wrong?’ I asked one of them. ‘No, you look suspicious and like someone we are looking for.'”
“Maybe they were doing their job but the fact I’d just been on stage with thousands of people shouting my name and now I was being approached by police who thought I could be a criminal felt like a slap in the face,” Johannes added.
While the situation came as a shock for Johannes, he recalls having the time of his life on stage. “Regardless, I wrapped up the tour oozing positive energy,” he said.
‘I get stopped all the time’
While making an appearance on Steph’s Packed Lunch in 2021, Johannes stated that getting stopped by the police is an occurring thing. It’s so bad that he said he was “going to stop wearing a cap and a black leather jacket”.
“I say that because I get stopped all the time, and then it’s like ‘oh ok sorry, it’s not you,'” he explained. “I’m tall, I’m black. It’s important where you are and where you hang around and what you do.”
While discussing his experience with the police, Steph asked Johannes how it made him feel. He replied: “It’s terrible, it really is terrible.”
As a result, Johannes has changed the way he dresses for certain occasions. “When I go out, I do try and look more ‘civilised’ so to speak,” he sadly said.
Read more: Strictly pro Johannes Radebe left in tears as he makes heartbreaking confession about his family
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