Strictly Come Dancing star Fleur East defends judge Shirley Ballas from ‘unfair’ criticism after ‘sexism’ claims

Shirley revealed she would have saved Richie in the dance-off (Picture: BBC)

Strictly Come Dancing 2022 star Fleur East has come to the defence of Shirley Ballas after the judge was criticised for her decision in last week’s dance off, calling the trolling ‘unfair’.

During the most recent results show on the BBC programme, singer Fleur and her partner Vito Coppola ended up in the bottom two opposite radio personality Richie Anderson and his partner Giovanni Pernice.

Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all voted to save Fleur and Vito, while Shirley revealed that she would have chosen to keep Richie and Giovanni in the competition.

Shirley recently spoke out after trolls claimed she was ‘sexist’ for seemingly showing a preference to male celebrity dancers, as she emphasised that her choice came down to the stars’ footwork in the dance-off.

In a new interview, former X Factor star Fleur said it was ‘unfair’ for people to hurl abuse on on Twitter.

‘It was a rough Sunday night. It was horrible, it was bittersweet. The judges chose to save me but it was the worst feeling ever. Yet I’m alive, I’m still standing, I survived,’ she told The Mirror.

Addressing the vitriol that arose on Twitter, she added: ‘Oh my goodness, I couldn’t believe it. There’s a lot of heat in the cha cha chat room. And I think it’s really unfair, actually.’

Fleur added that she has ‘the utmost respect for all the judges’, stating: ‘But Shirley… if you’ve not seen her dance, she’s incredible.

‘So, any time I stand there I’m like, “Just give me the notes, what do I have to do?”’

Both Richie and Fleur performed Disney-inspired routines for Movie Week (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA)

During a recent appearance on Loose Women, Shirley became emotional as she spoke about the abuse she has received on social media.

The dancer said that while she ‘loved’ that the audience has an opinion, it becomes hurtful when it ‘goes overboard and becomes nasty’, having received some ‘unfathomable’ messages with ‘explicit’ language.

This week, Fleur and Vito will be performing an Argentine Tango to Paint it Black by Ciara.

Other routines will include Jayde Adams and Karen Hauer performing the American Smooth to Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler; Kym Marsh and Graziano Di Prima doing a Samba to Volare by Gipsy Kings; Matt Goss and Nadiya Bychkova taking on the Jive to All Shook Up by Paul McCartney.

Strictly Come Dancing returns tonight at 6.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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Shirley revealed she would have saved Richie in the dance-off.