Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas revealed she’s on the verge of exposing “showbiz bullies” as she claims that attitudes haven’t improved since the 1960s.
The star 63, opened up about her life and career on BBC Radio Four’s Desert Island Discs.
She said: “I don’t know how people get away with it until it becomes ‘name and shame’ and I am pretty much close to doing that I’ll tell you.”
Shirley Ballas revealed misogyny exists in the dance world
Late on, she was asked whether there’s misogyny in the dance industry, to which she replied: “Yes for sure. 100 percent for sure and I don’t think it is much better today. I still think that bullying goes on.”
While she added there are “a lot of great people” in the industry, she confessed there’s a handful of “misogynistic people with egos” that won’t deflate.
Shirley’s interview comes days after she sent Annabel Croft home ahead of Sunday’s final next week. This sparked fans to slam the Strictly judge for being biased.
During the interview, Shirley revealed she’d been subjected to bullying in her career. She also admitted that men at the top would bully her.
She admitted she was bullied
“I was going through immense bullying in the industry from men at the top. I will just go as far as that. They were stopping my work. I was like an elite teacher,” she explained.
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She continued: “I was teaching the top couples in the world and then there were threats going to certain couples saying, There are nine of us and one of her. If you train with her we are going to make sure you don’t make it in the industry.”
“You know who you are and everybody in my industry knows who they are. Thank you to the bullies because you gave me a platform and a job which I sincerely love and adore,” she added.
Read more: Strictly star Shirley Ballas becomes a grandmother for the first time as son Mark welcomes baby boy
The Strictly final airs on Saturday, December 16 at 7pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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