Former Strictly star Peter Andre has responded to the backlash he received after sticking up for dance partner Janette Manrara.
Peter and Janette participated in Strictly in 2015 and finished in seventh place. Since his time on the show, the Mysterious Girl hitmaker has always spoken highly of Janette.
Peter Andre defends dance partner Janette Manrara
Following allegations about the behaviours of dance professionals behind the scenes, former contestant Will Bayley came forward last month after he suffered a life-long injury after competing on the BBC show.
The Paralympian was born with a congenital limb condition, a rare disorder that affects all four of his limbs. However, he was still encouraged to perform a jump that ultimately forced him to withdraw from the competition.
Will insisted Janette dismissed his jump as “rubbish” during rehearsals and wished she could have “protected him more”. In response, Peter defended Janette with a video upload.
“Although I don’t know what happens in everybody’s training room I can only speak about what I saw and experienced,” he said. “When Janette and others got dragged into it too, I couldn’t help but wonder if this is going too far before any investigation.
“She’s beautiful. And Aljaz [Skorjanec]… I don’t know… I just think if there’s misconduct then they have to find out but I just think they’re dragging everyone’s name in and I just don’t think it’s fair,” Peter continued.
“That’s just my personal opinion, I think that some of them just need to be cut a break.”
Peter responds to Janette backlash
For his latest column for OK! Magazine, Peter admitted that he uploaded the video of his experience on Strictly because he “felt like certain people were being named and shamed before it had been investigated and it was unfair”.
He continued: “I absolutely agreed with the fact that if someone has done something bad and it’s been proven, like the Zara [McDermott] situation, then action must be taken. Janette Manrara was my dance partner and my friend – and I felt it was right to stick up for her.”
While most of Peter’s comments were positive, he still noticed some negativity.
“One such comment was, ‘Just because it was an OK time for you, it might not have been for someone else and you could be undermining their experience.’ That made me really think. I’m a huge believer in spreading positivity and my experience was positive.”
He admitted he is “not afraid to hold my hands up when I’ve been shown another point of view”.
Read more: Strictly star Janette Manrara reveals two-word text sent to Will Bayley following his allegations
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