Peter Andre has labelled Strictly Come Dancing’s Graziano Di Prima “disgusting” after facing irked comments from fans following his defence of other professional dancers caught up in the ongoing scandal.
The singer, 51, shared a video on social media on Wednesday in which he defended the likes of Janette Manrara, Giovanni Pernice and Anton Du Beke in light of the BBC investigation into Strictly Come Dancing “misconduct” claims.
The Mysterious Girl singer came under fire for his remarks and in what appears to be a major U-turn on his stance, he’s since deleted the post from his Instagram page.
Many of his fans slammed him for sharing his own positive experience with the dancers he met while suggesting he was dismissing claims from other stars such as Amanda Abbington, 52.
Among the backlash to the video was a comment that read: “Graziano has actually admitted to assaulting Zara McDermott by means of kicking her.”
In response, Andre decided to hit out at the 30-year-old dancer as he fumed: “Yes, and I definitely am not in support of that.
Peter Andre starred in Strictly Come Dancing in 2015 alongside Janette Manrara
Getty
“It’s disgusting. I’m talking about others who’s names have just been dragged in to this without any evidence.”
It comes as Abbington gave a harrowing interview on the same day in which she delved into her claims of “abuse and bullying” she reportedly faced at the hands of Pernice, 33.
In a Channel 4 News interview, the Sherlock star claimed as she talked about the current BBC probe: “There is 50 hours of footage that is being blocked.
“50 hours is a lot of footage and a lot of time spent in a room that was toxic. In the first week, I raised my concerns to the producers and they quickly said they would put in a camera.
Peter Andre labelled Di Prima ‘disgusting’ following claims made against him in the Strictly Come Dancing probe
PA
“Giovanni said he asked for them but he didn’t. I know he didn’t. Every Friday for the five weeks I would get the producers saying they had watched the footage and they were shocked and would apologise.
“There is evidence out there of what happened in that room and I am not blocking it. It is bullying and aggressive behaviour and other things that were quite upsetting.”
Andre, who took part in the 2015 series of Strictly Come Dancing alongside Manrara, 40, decided to share his thoughts in defence of the professional dancers amid an ongoing backlash of the past few weeks, which resulted from Abbington’s initial claims about Pernice.
Posting in view of his 1.9million followers, Andre captioned the clip: “My thoughts on @bbcstrictly @jmanrara @aljazskorjanec @giovannipernice @mrantondubeke.
“Although i don’t know what happens in everybody’s training room I can only speak about what I saw and experienced. It is however important that people speak up if they feel that something was wrong and important that they are heard.
“When Janette and others got dragged into it too, I couldn’t help but wonder if this is going too far before any investigation.” (sic)
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Giovanni Pernice will no longer appear on Strictly Come Dancing following the allegations
Getty
He went on to argue: “But because I was there and people like Giovanni, who was always a gentleman to me… Anton [Du Beke], they were lovely to me – and not just me by the way, I saw them with people. And I think when Janette’s name got dragged in too, I’m like… Come on guys.”
However, several people slammed his take in the comments, with some arguing his comments are the reason “people don’t speak up”.
Manara found herself at the centre of the scandal following remarks by former partner Will Bayley in which he claimed he’d be living with “lifelong injuries” due to rehearsals on the show.
Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Andre seems to have come to regret his decision to weigh in on the investigation and has removed the video from his Instagram feed.