Strictly star John Whaite has hit back at ‘vicious’ trolls after he received backlash over the weekend.
The star, who is part of the first male same-sex couple in the show’s history, has reached next Saturday’s final (December 18) with his dance partner, Johannes Radebe.
What happened to John Whaite on Strictly this week?
Strictly’s nineteenth series is almost at its end as the show hurtles into its final week of competition. This time next week, a new couple will have their hands on the coveted Glitterball trophy, and fans can’t wait.
Rhys Stephenson and his dance partner, Nancy Xu, left the show on Sunday after the dance-off. The couple went up against John and Johannes on last night’s show (Sunday, December 12), but failed to convince the judges to save them.
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John and Johannes now join Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice, as well as AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington in Saturday’s final.
Following their victory in last night’s dance-off, John took to Instagram to hit back at some of the trolls who’d abused him during his Strictly journey.
How did he hit back at trolls?
The 32-year-old posted a picture of himself and Johannes performing their Couple’s Choice dance. In the caption, John lashed out at trolls who’d criticised his same-sex dance partnership with Johannes.
John began the caption by listing some of the words and phrases he’d heard being used to describe his involvement in the show. These included: “Fixed, box-ticking, agenda, bias, proving a point, not natural, won’t be watching the final.”
John continued the caption by taking aim at the trolls. He wrote: “You vicious, empty people are a dying breed.”
“You’ll be left behind as the world becomes kinder, more empathic, more loving, more tolerant, more understanding,” he continued. “The only grievance you should feel is your own failure to evolve.”
Plenty of John’s followers took to the comments to show their support for the star.
What did Strictly viewers say about John Whaite’s Instagram post?
“Always remember you are amazing and there are thousands of people who love you… love you both… and you know what… Love always wins!!” Great British Bake Off winner Dr. Rahul Madal wrote.
“NO-ONE CAN DIM YOUR LIGHT,” fellow Strictly star AJ Odudu wrote. “You are loved. Fact.”
“We love you,” presenter Denise Van Outen said.
Many Strictly fans wanted John Whaite to know how much they loved him on the show too.
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“That my little boy gets to watch you dance each week without ever even questioning two men dancing together shows how far we’ve come – he absolutely loves you both,” one fan told John.
“My young children love to watch you dance and I love the conversation it has started about how we are all free to be however we want to be. Thank you for that,” another said.
“You guys are an inspiration to not only the LGBTQIA+ community but to everyone. So so much love to you both and thank you for doing Strictly,” a third wrote.
You can catch John Whaite and Johannes in the Strictly final on Saturday, December 18 at 7 pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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