I actually had this thought the other day, having a conversation with someone about John/Johannes and why it was so meaningful and important to Jo to experience a male partnership, which they came back with ‘but would it not have meant as much to any of the other gay dancers?’ And I realised he is literally the only one at present (or at least the only not closeted). I don’t know if that signals something about acceptance towards traditionally gendered professions, or if it actually signals the opposite. No country is perfect, and I’m the first to slam the UK for being stagnant, but in comparison to a lot of the countries some of the Pros originate from (rural parts of Italy, South Africa, South America), it’s fairly tolerant towards homosexuality. I think it’s easy to forget that a lot of the dancers grew up in countries that have only recently undergone changes to LGBT laws, and the fact that Strictly is such an open, accepting space doesn’t diminish potential decades of shame or fear. I would hope that Giovanni and Gorka’s incredible drag performances in the Priscilla routine with Johannes would signal that neither are scared to be their true selves thoughYes, Graziano said the same thing, and Gorka as well, about being bullied as kids for being perceived as girly and gay for dancing. In that Strictly: The Professionals documentary thing that's on youtube, I thought all of them seemed a little too desperate to insist that chasing pussy was their reason for starting to dance (Aljaz, sweetie, you were 5. Sorry not buying it) It's sad they feel they can't just say they love dancing.
They definitely could all be straight, and past issues with bullying making them oversell it a bit, but just as easily, that sort of background could keep someone in the closet.
And people can be closeted even if there seems no reason why they would be to anyone else. A guy I went to school with, (who just so happens to do ballroom competitively) was obviously, flamboyantly gay, but throughout high school he insisted he wasn't, even making up a girlfriend from another school. I naively believed him, because why would he lie to us, his friends, who would definitely be supportive? Well, he came out several years later. I can only assume some problem with his parents may have been the reason he didn't feel able to sooner.
edit: and I mean, look at Phillip Schofield, for christ's sake! As someone who'd only ever seen him in Dancing On Ice clips on youtube, imagine my astonishment when he came out and I discovered he had a wife and kids! I just assumed he was openly gay, because it was obvious.
Anywa, statistically speaking, I find it just a smidge hard to believe that of all the male Strictly pros there have been, that Ian, Matthew, Robin and Johannes are the only gay (or bi) ones. I took ballroom classes for a few years in my early teens, and of the 6 guys in the class, at least 3 of them were gay.
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Welp, unless someone else made it up or has their wires crossed, I heard on DS that he has a longterm boyfriend.
Yep, definitely also possible that the weird vibe of the Maura thing is just bad PR management.
lol, no, I haven't seen it, I'll have to check it out, sounds hilarious!I don’t think he even made it to 3 months with Maura, did he? Distracted by the insta pics and didn’t realise what he’d gotten himself in to… I can’t imagine either of them could understand what the other was saying honestly
Have you seen his Us Weekly red carpet interview? It’s the worst thing I’ve ever witnessed.. the interviewer asks about his new relationship to which he drags his girlfriend over to awkwardly stand there while he talks about how she has the same name as his ex wife
Ah yes Vick Hope who studied Modern foreign languages, but couldn’t understand GrazDidn’t she make claims that the reason she was voted out was because the public didn’t know Graziano yet? And i’m also pretty sure she made comments about his accent and saying she couldn’t understand a word he was saying to her and that also contributed to them leaving according to her. I’m not a huge fan of her tbh, I think she was one of those contestants that expected to do well without actually putting the work in, from what I remember she didn’t train as much as the other celebs did.
Sorry - just catching up and seeing that people have already said all of this
Still, nice to see they can get in a taxi together.Grazwasn't too nice about his first partner!Yeah it does depend on the pro - Janette does strike me a social climber and has used her 'friendships' to climb the ladder in my opinion. I mean she's someone who is 'friends' with other contestants outside her own celebs. I don't think she is a nasty person but I do see her as someone who has reaped the benefits of her friendships as much as possible. Amy barely stays in touch with Karim anymore and he was her best contestant; I think whoever can get her that glitterball will be her ultimate BFF.
I rather pro's who can be kind and genuine when teaching their celebs and still speak highly of them when the show is done and not do this whole ''We'll be BFF's for life!!'' shtick. I think Karen, Dianne, Gorka and Graziano for example have this down imo.
I think it was the other way around…
Nadiya posting another picture in “AJ’s dress” and looking unreal, she is such a beautiful woman 
Of course DS are already coming for her and are fuming that she has posted wearing it again 
Of course DS are already coming for her and are fuming that she has posted wearing it again 
They were quite a mismatched pair really, I think she might have been better with someone a bit taller:
Natalie Cassidy Recalls 'Out Of Order' Incident From Her Time On Strictly Come Dancing
The EastEnders star has revealed she was left feeling uncomfortable after being asked to do a particular move.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
DS think they're masking their dislike for Nadiya with "jokes" but it's really obvious that a lot of them actually resent her. I do think Nadiya is spectacularly beautiful in a way that most women don't even touch.Nadiya posting another picture in “AJ’s dress” and looking unreal, she is such a beautiful woman
Oh she’s stunning, don’t get me wrong, but it would be nice to see her other costumes? I know she has a super sexy corsety one at one point and I’d like to see that.
I don't even notice what she's wearing - she's radiant. If I could either wake up looking like her or wake up next to her, I'd be happy.
But why does it matter? She should be able to post whatever she wants without a bunch of middle aged woman moaning about it on a thread that’s specifically made to discuss someone else
The only people who care that Nadiya is wearing AJ’s dress are the overly obsessed AJ fans who need to get outside and touch some grass. You can bet that even AJ herself doesn’t care.
(I liked AJ on the show but I’d happily not see her on my screen again for a long while because I’ve heard her name enough to last me a lifetime)
(I liked AJ on the show but I’d happily not see her on my screen again for a long while because I’ve heard her name enough to last me a lifetime
)I'm confused because the dress is referred to AJ's showdance dress and AJ never did a showdance so... sorry, but it was never AJ's dress then, was it?
She’s unbelievably stunning. All of the female pros are gorgeous but Nadiya is just something else
yep, I definitely think there's a problem with homophobia in the industry. When I try to think of how many openly gay pros I can think of across the versions I'm familiar with, it's a way smaller number than you'd expect, when you think of how many dancers are gay. On the US one, it's the same kind of thing, none of the pros in their current line-up are openly gay, and the former pros who were, there are only a couple of them and they were not out while they competed.
On the Australian version, it's a little tricky because there isn't really much of a main pro line-up to speak of, there are only a handful of recurring pros. The most number of seasons any openly gay one has done is 3. Not that there's anything wrong with that, as most of the DWTSAU pros only do a season or two anyway, but I've followed one of the longest-serving pros on insta for a few years now, and it's really noticeable that most of his dance friends/behind-the-scenes co-workers are gay. He posts rehearsal videos, tags choreographers, background dancers, friends etc. You have a glance at their insta pages and 90% of them are gay. At first I just sorta thought it was funny, thinking like 'lol, are you sure you're straight, you don't seem to have ever met another straight guy, lol' and then I started to realise that there's no way it's just a random occurrence that the majority of dancers who are put in front of the camera are straight (or closeted) and the gay ones choreograph behind the camera.
I get the impression that producers/networks seem to think it would turn some viewers off if there were more than one or two gay pros in any given season/series. That straight or straight-presenting pros are more marketable to the wider audience and the gay ones have to expect to play second fiddle.
Sadly, I think there's a very good chance that either a) some of the pros across all versions of Strictly/DWTS are closeted because they know they'll get better opportunities/exposure that way, or b) most gay dancers simply don't get the opportunity to reach that level as straight ones are preferentially hired so the producers don't have to worry about viewers not buying into chemistry/showmance.
Yes, I certainly hope so, too.
Though, I'm not sure poor Gorks was having the best time, judging by his face in the rehearsal video.
He looked like he was praying for lightning to strike him dead every second of that clip! I didn't exactly get the impression he volunteered, but maybe it was just the heels bothering him, poor thing. Good on him for going for it anyway!Exactly!! And Nadiya has been wearing it for almost 4 weeks whereas AJ only wore it for one night, so isn’t it technically Nadiya’s dress?
Dr Be would probably call this a hate crime, but I think Nadiya looks better in it too. No offense to AJ, but I think the colour works better on Nadiya.Exactly!! And Nadiya has been wearing it for almost 4 weeks whereas AJ only wore it for one night, so isn’t it technically Nadiya’s dress?
But I think it's a hideous dress anyway, can't believe how much fuss is being made about it.
I saw rumours that the new guy Ezra Sosa in the DWTS troupe is gay, I don't know if he's out about it (from a Latin American, LDS family) but he definitely does ping my gaydar in a few ways. Otherwise they only ever had Louis Van Amstel who despite being one of the best dancers in the world, was only really on 'occasional pro' status.
The Australian version rotates pros so often, I can barely remember who is on each season. Is Josh Keefe the gay one you were referring to? (danced with Courtney Act, was also part of Jason's team at Strictly).
‘Technically’ it was designed by Vicky for AJ’s showdance and was put in the tour wardrobe ready for that. It then became the dress that Nadiya wears. They both looked super hot in it.Exactly!! And Nadiya has been wearing it for almost 4 weeks whereas AJ only wore it for one night, so isn’t it technically Nadiya’s dress?
Should AJ ever get a chance to do her showdance in some form she’ll probably wear it if it’s still available.
She’s also liked a few posts of Nadiya, with her wearing it so I doubt she’s bothered.
Just think it needs a change up , as it would be nice to see some of her other costumes.
There's only one AJ I want to read about on here and incidentally, how's Trish?The only people who care that Nadiya is wearing AJ’s dress are the overly obsessed AJ fans who need to get outside and touch some grass. You can bet that even AJ herself doesn’t care.
(I liked AJ on the show but I’d happily not see her on my screen again for a long while because I’ve heard her name enough to last me a lifetime
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