Strictly Come Dancing star Fleur East has had a tough week after facing the dance-off in last weekends show.
15.10.2022 - 22:06 / ok.co.uk
AJ Pritchard has called Shirley Ballas "the most qualified" judge on Strictly Come Dancing after fans demanded she be sacked from the role over concerns she was favouring male celebrities on the show. Shirley, 62, was accused of being "sexist" after explaining she would have saved Richie Anderson, 34, and his pro partner Giovanni Pernice, 32, on Sunday 9 October night following their dance off with Fleur East, 34, and Vito Coppola, 30.
She's since hit out at the trolls on several occasions and now 27 year old AJ has come to her defence as well.The former Strictly professional dancer, who recently clashed with Jeremy Kyle as he labelled the programme "so woke it's unwatchable", opened up to OK! magazine about the ongoing drama in an exclusive interview. "For me, Shirley is so passionate about the technique that is Ballroom and Latin and she's so qualified for that job," he explained to OK!.
"She was one of my Latin teachers – I was in awe of her because every single time I had a lesson, I'd think, 'I can't get any more information out of this person', and should give a new technique, a new style, a new observation of Ballroom and Latin dancing." AJ went on to explain that her role on the judging panel is "really important" as she is the "most qualified judge that you can have in the whole of the world". When asked if he had ever observed any kind of favouritism towards the male celebrities while he was part of the show, he simply replied: "No, I don't think so." He then shared his views on how Shirley operates as he said: "I think Shirley is very honest.
Strictly Come Dancing star Fleur East has had a tough week after facing the dance-off in last weekends show.
Shirley Ballas has responded to the massive amount of criticism she has received recently over her comments on Strictly Come Dancing.The head judge was slammed this week after she made comments about female celebrities – particularly Olympian Ellie Simmonds.Then during movie week, Shirley was berated online after saying she would’ve saved Richie Anderson and Giovanni Pernice over the couple that was ultimately saved, Fleur East and Vito Coppola. Some fans called for the Latin dance champ to be sacked, while others demanded an apology. Shirley, 62, has now responded to the criticism while talking to the panellists on Loose Women via video call on Wednesday 12 October.
Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas has hit out at the "vile trolling" she has received recently.The head judge, 62, took to Instagram on Tuesday to reveal she had won two gongs recently, one at the Legends Of Industry Awards 2022 and another at the Ballroom Dancers' Federation. Posting a snap with her Special Award from the BDF, Shirley penned: "This certainly made a difficult week more beautiful. Second industry award this week.