'IT'S HURTFUL'
Tearful Shirley Ballas hits back at vile ‘explicit’ trolls after major Strictly backlash
STRICTLY star Shirley Ballas fought back tears as she hit back at vile trolls who targeted her with expletive-filled messages after Sunday night's results show.
The head judge appeared on Loose Women today after being branded sexist by some viewers who claimed she favoured male dancers to females.
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Fans went into meltdown after Sunday night’s show when Shirley backed eliminated Richie Anderson for survival instead of Fleur East following a one-sided dance-off.
Speaking today, Shirley said: "I appreciate the audience have been watching it for 20 years but sometimes... what I want to get across is when you watch a TV screen, you only see half of what I see.
"I love that they have an opinion, it's when it starts to get overboard and nasty."
Shirley has developed a thick skin during her decades in the demanding world of dance.
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She continued: "It's a tough industry and has been a tough industry my whole life, so Saturdays... oh I'm getting emotional already... and Saturdays are like going to Disneyland, it's the ultimate job, I really enjoy it.
"I do read everything... it's really hurtful. Some of the language is so explicit I couldn't even retweet them."
Then explaining why she favoured Richie's routine to Fleur, she said: "I chose Richie because it's very difficult to dance a samba, his footwork was beautiful.
"I loved Fleur, she had this beautiful frame and it was soft and elegant but in the end I went with the footwork and there's nothing wrong with that."
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Viewers raged on social media on Sunday, accusing the head judge, 62, of bias and calling for her to go.
It was claimed she was unable to “celebrate the young, female celebrities” and “felt threatened by” and was “overly critical” of attractive women dancers.
One viewer fumed on Twitter: “Sexist Shirley would rather save men darting around in animal costumes than the technically-skilled and beautiful dancer Fleur?”
Teacher Lizzie Man Neon blasted: “Shirley Ballas should be removed from the panel. She’s setting a bad example. Her views are outdated and sexist. Please let this be her last year, or preferably week.”
More than a thousand people liked the comment.
Twitter user Elaine Harvey added: “Shirley seems to have completely lost the plot this season. She is downright rude, sexist and blatantly has her favourites.”
Poster Susan Young said: “The way Shirley speaks to women is unacceptable. She clearly has an issue with young attractive women.”
Shirley was also criticised for being harsh on comedian Ellie Taylor, 38, during Saturday’s Movie Week show.
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Host Tess Daly, 53, jumped to Ellie’s defence when the judge told her: “From today I’m not accepting any heel leads. That goes for everybody because you have a choice and you have been told.”
Tess told Shirley she was being “very strict”, prompting fellow judge Anton Du Beke, 56, to say: “If it’s any consolation, I feel like I’ve been a bit told off myself.”
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