Being the head judge on Strictly Come Dancing sometimes means giving unpopular feedback, but viewers have accused Shirley Ballas of singling out contestant Faye Tozer in a hate campaign.
Now, the 58-year-old dancing champion has hit back in a series of tweets, calling out the “negative people” and their “nasty disgusting comments.”
The TV judge posted a quote that declared: “No matter what you do, someone will have something negative to say. Try not to take it personally.”
Shirley added the comment: “I love this I was sent today. After all the negative people and such nasty disgusting comments I received, I post this for anyone out there who has to deal with nasty people.
“Be kind caring and loving. I live by that. HATE is an awful trait.”
I love this I was sent today. After all the negative people and such nasty disgusting comments I received ,I post this for anyone out there who has to deal with nasty people. Be kind caring and loving. I live by that. HATE is an awful trait. pic.twitter.com/gAWdWnGoqs
— Shirley Ballas (@ShirleyBallas) November 11, 2018
She also spent time on Twitter replying to many of the trolls directly.
“Thank you for your lovely comments,” she tweeted sarcastically to one that read: “Faye has a lot of class, which Shirley hasn’t.”
Another violent threat encouraged the other judges to “HIGH FIVE @ShirleyBallas IN THE FACE WITH A CHAIR”.
Shirley replied: “How lovely. I hope someone never wishes that on your family… can you imagine? And this is a fun TV show, imagine all the young people who are bullied like this. Shame on you. You can disagree politely not aggressively.”
She called out another viewer for their “disgusting comment.”
The TV star also thanked others for defending her, writing to one: “Thank you Mel. I’m happy for people to disagree in a non aggressive hateful way. We must make the world go round with love and kindness. Enjoy tonight.”
How lovely , I hope someone never wishes that on your family. HIGH FIVE @ShirleyBallas IN THE FACE WITH A CHAIR. #Strictly , can you imagine and this is a fun tv show imagine all the young people who are bullied like this. Shame on you , you can disagree politely not aggressive
— Shirley Ballas (@ShirleyBallas) November 11, 2018
Shirley also insisted her comments to Faye were not personal, tweeting: “I love all the dancers. I have a job to do and I bring my years of experience. It is my opinion and it’s what I’m on the show to do. But thank you. Enjoy.”
Read more: Giovanni Pernice speaks out on Shirley Ballas’s criticism of Faye Tozer
The Steps star danced the jive on Saturday night, with dance partner, Giovanni Pernice. They got a nine from notoriously tough judge Craig Revel Horwood.
But Shirley said she “expected more” from the couple, and gave them the lowest score on the panel – an eight – which outraged viewers at home.
One tweeted: “Why does @ShirleyBallas hate @Faye_Tozer so much?!? Every week she is negative ! #scd2018 #StrictlyComeDancing.”
Another wrote: “@Faye_Tozer and @pernicegiovann1 were outstanding. What did Shirley Ballas see? Jealousy perhaps. #Strictly #Strictly2018 #StrictlyComeDancing.”
A third told her: “@ShirleyBallas you need to watch back Faye & Giovanni’s dance. You are completely out of order with that mark & verging on just being [bleepy] with that score. #Strictly.”
A fourth added: “Shirley Ballas is making herself look like a complete jealous witch. What’s with the hate towards Faye? Is it that hard to praise the technical ability like you do everyone, Shirl? Nasty piece of work.”
Giovanni later appeared on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two to say Shirley should’ve worded her criticism better.
The 28-year-old told presenter Zoe Ball: “The thing is, I accept what she said because she is a brilliant dancer and a brilliant teacher.
“She is a Latin Queen. So we just accept everything that she said. [But] I think there are other ways to say the comments.
“But you know, we are going to fly to Blackpool next week. We are there. We’re gonna be there fighting for our place.”
Read more: Danny John-Jules admits regret over Strictly pro Amy Dowden
Do you think Shirley is an unbiased judge? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think.