Strictly Come Dancing’s Johannes Radebe has opened up about his experiences of being homosexual in his home country of South Africa and how the opportunity of doing Strictly in the UK has made him “a better person and accepting” of himself.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, he spoke about how Strictly gave him the confidence to speak about his sexuality: “I’ve always known. I’ve always been proud. I’ve always been myself, regardless of what was said to me and where I come from.”
Johannes grew up in South Africa in Zamdela, near Johannesburg where homosexuality is frowned upon, but he said he’s always been himself.
“The society around me pointed to me and said, ‘There’s something wrong with you.’ But Strictly has helped me be a better person and accepting of myself. When I got to the UK it was beautiful — for the first time in my life I felt liberated,” he described.
Johannes recalled his childhood in the township of Zamdela, which seems a stark contrast to his life now. He described how he was called names as a child and physically attacked with a baseball bat when he was 17 because of “what he is.”
“This happened in school, a fellow pupil. I was terrified. All I can remember was asking, ‘What have I done? What did I do to you?’ He said, ‘Well, you’re a f****t and disgusting’.
“We ended up physically fighting because when somebody comes at you with a baseball bat, I don’t think you can just stand there. It was more jealousy — I was never there at school as I was usually away dancing in competitions.
“He was not a fan of me — he was punishing me for the fact that I am what I am,” he remembered.
After overcoming his struggles, Johannes joined Strictly over in the UK last year and became a household name after his debut in heeled boots in the week five results show, capturing the hearts of viewers, something he said was “huge for him”.
He said: “I’ve done Strictly a couple of times in other countries, but when I got here the production team told me to put on heels and strut around — and that’s my job! That’s huge for me, because that’s something that would never have happened in South Africa.”
And, after Sunday’s elimination, the dancing sensation is set to make history next week while performing a same-sex dance with fellow pro dancer, Graziano di Prima, a huge milestone for both Johannes and the show.
The men will perform a romantic routine on Sunday night’s results show, to Shine by Emeli Sande.
This landmark step by BBC comes ahead of ITV’s Dancing On Ice decision to pair up Steps singer, Ian H Watkins and pro skater Matt Evers.
Johannes said ahead of next week: “Am I proud to be a part of that? Absolutely. I’m happy to be a trailblazer. It will be one of the moments where we all sit back and go, ‘This is what we’ve been waiting for’.”
Fans were up in arms after Sunday’s shock elimination that saw Catherine and Johannes up against BBC host Mike Bushell and his partner Katya Jones in the dance off.
Head judge, Shirley Ballas, voted to save Mike over Catherine and it’s safe to say fans were not happy about it.
Taking to Twitter to voice their bewilderment and anger, users claimed the judges were “losing the plot” and needed to “go to specsavers” after another controversial decision that left fans confused.
Catherine posted a touching message on her Instagram showing the pair in tears, as she thanked Johannes, describing him as “a gift to the world.”
“When I started my #Strictly journey my confidence was low. My belief in what I could achieve on the show was extremely low. The expectations on my humble body – beyond low,” she began in the lengthy tribute.
“What @johannesradebe gave me was priceless. Confidence ,Belief, Love- and Laughter beyond words! This man is a gift to the world.
“He taught me how to walk in high heels, he taught me how to ‘own it’… he taught me to love and appreciate what my body could achieve.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday on BBC One.
