Dancing on Ice’s Oti Mabuse opens up about racial abuse and fat-shaming on Strictly

Oti Mabuse has spoken out about experiencing racial abuse and fat-shaming while appearing on Strictly Come Dancing.

Currently a judge on Dancing On Ice, Mabuse became a household name in the UK when she first joined the BBC programme as a professional dancer in 2015.

However, in a new piece for the Radio Times, Mabuse revealed that she has received online messages from viewers attacking her race and body shape.

“I’ve never really spoken about it because I’ve tried for so long to think about it this way: I work on a show that 10 million people love,” she wrote. “If 10 or 100 people aren’t nice to me, that is not representative of everyone else’s views.

“To get tweeted or receive a message in my inbox being racially abusive, or fat-shaming me, is horrible. But it’s written by a person who can’t even face themselves in the mirror.”

The South African-born dancer added that she’s used the negativity to fuel her work and set a “strong” example for young girls watching.

“The hard stuff that I’ve been through, with the racism and discrimination, is proof that people still have a lot to learn,” Mabuse continued. “The more hate I receive the more of a reason it is to carry on doing my job. I have to show young girls that anything is possible. I have to fight, and be strong.”

Elsewhere in the piece, Mabuse commented on the pressures of performing on a show that, prior to her arrival, did not have any other Black professional dancers.

Despite having appeared on the German version of Strictly and winning several titles as a Latin American dance champion, Mabuse admitted that she felt she wasn’t considered “good enough” to compete.

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“Some people say you’re on a show because the channel needs to tick a box. Which means you’re not worthy of being there,” she said. “But I think that just shows where people who make those comments are in their own lives. Being Black makes me special.”

Mabuse won back-to-back series of Strictly in both 2019 and 2020 with Kelvin Fletcher and Bill Bailey respectively.

In 2021, she was eliminated in week five along with partner Ugo Monye.