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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Victoria Johns

Strictly's Shirley Ballas accused of favouring male contestants in sexism row

Shirley Ballas has been accused of favouring male contestants on Strictly Come Dancing.

Some viewers reckon the head judge, 62, should be sacked for 'not celebrating young, female celebrities'.

Fans were up in arms at the weekend when the Queen of Latin criticised Ellie Taylor as well as saying she'd save Richie Anderson over Fleur East in the dance-off.

Now the judge has been accused of sparking a 'sexism row' - and it's only week four of the competition!

"Shirley Ballas should be removed from the panel, she’s setting a bad example, she cannot celebrate the young, female celebrities," one fan fumed.

They continued: "Her views are outdated and sexist. Please let this be her last year, or preferably week on, #Strictly.

"To clarify, this isn’t an attack on her as a person or as a professional dancer, that would be cruel & perverse. Her comments have led the majority public to believe she is biased, which is problematic on a judging panel."

Another fan agreed, asking: "Who is keeping her as head judge. And, more importantly, why?!"

However, another viewer defended the judge, saying: "I like her. Often when it makes no difference because the other 3 have voted to save one person, she goes the other way. Possibly out of kindness?"

Shirley herself appeared to clap back at the comments, posting a cryptic message on Instagram.

She wrote: "Some people aren't loyal to you, they are loyal to their need of you. Once their need changes, so does their loyalty."

The judge also took to Twitter, saying: "I have received many apologies over the weekend regarding hurtful messages I've received on social media.

"All apologies are accepted and from now on let's all respect each other and enjoy the show. Love to you all," followed by a heart emoji.

The judge was called out for her comments about Richie and Giovanni (PA)

Many fans flocked to the judges support, with one tweeting: "Aw Shirley so sorry you getting these people saying things. Some people don’t realise what may not upset them can upset others!"

The furore started when the dance champ said she'd save Richie and Giovanni over Fleur and Vito in Sunday's dance-off - even though her decision didn't make any difference to the result as the other judges had already voted.

Over the years, fans have spotted Shirley has saved Greg Wise, Chris Ramsey and Mike Bushell over Judi Love, Alex Scott and Catherine Tylesley respectively.

Viewers were also perplexed at the judge's criticism of Ellie Taylor on Saturday after the star was told to work on her heel leads.

Professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin appeared to call Shirley out after he danced with Ellie Simmonds in a number which featured the same discipline.

Speaking to host Claudia Winkelman, he said: "Just a little bit confused because Shirley said previously to Ellie T that there must be everything right with the feet in the ballroom."

Fans supported Nikita's comments, with one tweeting: "NOT NIKITA CALLING OUT SHIRLEY ON HER CRITICISM OF HEEL LEADS FROM ELLIE TAYLOR AND PRAISE OF THEM FOR ELLIE SIMMONDS I am deceased #Strictly."

The Mirror has contacted Shirley's reps and the BBC for comment.

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