Strictly Come Dancing's Motsi Mabuse defends Amber Davies amid trolling over dance training
The Strictly judge has spoken outStrictly Come Dancing‘s Motsi Mabuse has publicly reached out to Amber Davies after she was trolled again over her dance training.
Amber came under attack by keyboard warriors this weekend after she and Nikita Kuzmin made it through to the semi-final.
The pair had been in the dance-off with Lewis Cope and Katya Jones, and the judges unanimously voted to save them.
Not everyone agreed with the decision to send Lewis and Katya home, though, and poor Amber has received the brunt.
Amber has already spoken out and urged people to “be kind”, but now Motsi has thrown her support behind her, too.
In a sweet message, the Strictly judge says she “applauds” both Amber and Lewis, as they have both received criticism for their past dance experience.
Writing on Instagram, Motsi penned: “I applaud the both of you how you are handling all of this negativity towards you, to think how both of you stepped in last minute giving us honestly beautiful dances!! You both have my respect.”
Strictly’s Amber Davies hits back at trolls
Amber was forced to speak out herself on Monday morning. The West End performer shared an emotionally-charged message to remind people Strictly is “just a television show” following Sunday’s Results Show.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Amber said: “Guys, please… it really is just a television show. I wasn’t even supposed to be in the comp. You have no idea what we put our mind and body through for this experience.
“I’m really just trying my best with the opportunity that came to me. To anyone you has left a NICE comment thank you.”
Amber, who was drafted in to replace Dani Dyer just days before the series began, has since reshared her message on Instagram. She added: “The meanies are out to play. Please be kind.”
Amber and Nikita performed a Charleston during the Musicals Week quarter-final. They took on Sit Down (You’re Rockin’ the Boat) from Guys and Dolls.
Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood all awarded them a 10, giving them a perfect score of 40. But when it came to the public vote, they fell drastically short.
The judges admitted they were “speechless” by the outcome. However, there has been a growing backlash against both Amber and Lewis for their professional dance experience.
Both competitors were brought it to Strictly Come Dancing at the last minute. But both have a background in dance. Lewis has also starred in the West End’s Billy Elliott and performed on Sky’s Got To Dance.
‘The public wants an amateur to win!’
Writing on X this weekend, one viewer said: “I don’t know why everyone’s so shocked. Yes Lewis and Amber are the best dancers but they were also over qualified, have both performed professionally in musicals and the public wants an amateur to win.”
Another added: “Amber Davies wasn’t even meant to be on the show this year She’s a trained dancer who has had most of her work be in musicals. She’s been in the dance off more than Lewis but the judges want her to win no matter what – what a disgusting fix.”
A third referenced Strictly’s decision to describe Amber as “a fan of musicals”.
“‘Amber is a huge fan of musicals’. Frustrated with Strictly constantly attempting to gaslight the audience by not mentioning the celebs background,” they said. “Amber has been leading lady in multiple west ends shows; we’ve done our homework. Nothing against her, but just be honest.”
However, others have thrown their support behind Amber. One wrote: “Really not getting all the unnecessary hate for Amber right now on #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing – Are people jealous of her because of her background in Musicals or because she’s attractive etc? She came in at the very last minute and is fully embracing the SCD experience.”
Someone else said: “I just hope people leave Amber alone now and focus on the routines and the dance quality not who can dance or not especially so close to the final. She didn’t deserve to see those horrible comments.”
Amber and Nikita will be performing in this weekend’s semi-final with Karen Carney and Carlos Gu, George Clarke and Alexis Warr, and Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon.
