Laila Rouass has broken her silence on the ongoing Strictly Come Dancing scandal.
After a historic row with her former dance partner Anton Du Beke resurfaced in the wake of the ‘abuse’ allegations.
The actress, 53, appeared on the BBC show in 2009 with Anton, 58, but her time in the competition was marred after the dancer left her ‘in tears’.
When he said she ‘looked like a P***’ during training.
It was also revealed at the time that Anton had also asked Laila – who is of Indian and Moroccan descent – if she was a terrorist in a joke about her north African heritage.
At the time of the incident, the now-judge apologised and admitted he felt ‘stupid’ and ’embarrassed’ for his comments made towards the Holby City star.
When she got a spray tan and the pair made amends a few weeks later.
The historic row resurfaced last week amid the ongoing barrage of allegations against the show and its professional dancers.
But Laila has now come out in defence of Anton, saying she had forgiven him for his past comments, and insisting he had never acted ‘physically, emotionally, sexually or verbally’ abusive to her at any point.
She declared that he should not ‘lose his livelihood, reputation and credibility’ and urged people to focus on the ‘incredibly concerning’ allegations from other contestants, and not allow her experience to be ‘merged’ with theirs.
Taking to her Instagram on Sunday, Laila explained she hadn’t want to speak out, but felt she had to after she and her family were hit by online abuse, as well as feeling it would be ‘morally reprehensible’ to allow speculation about Anton to continue.
She wrote: ‘There has been much speculation over the last couple of weeks about alleged complaints I have made to the BBC regarding my time at Strictly.
‘I had no intention of making a statement but now feel it’s necessary as over the last couple of weeks there have been false accusations, online abuse and harassment aimed at me and my family.
‘Strictly is a show I have always loved so when I was offered the opportunity to compete, I was ecstatic. When I was paired with Anton, I knew I was in safe hands.
‘The show demands much of your time and energy. Anton and I rehearsed 7 days a week for approx 6/7 hours a day. This was on my insistence and Anton made himself available at these times. At no point did I feel pressured by Anton or the producers to add more time to rehearsals.’
Referencing the ‘racism’ row, she continued: ‘Unfortunately, my time on the show was scarred by a handful of incidents, some of which were discussed in the press at the time.
‘I would like to address those incidents; Yes, Anton used derogatory words and it was unacceptable. Yes, Anton publicly apologised to me. Above all this, and most importantly, I do not believe Anton is racist or Islamaphobic. If I believed he was, I would have refused to dance with him.’
Laila then insisted: ‘I wish to make clear, apart from the situation mentioned above, which was dealt with, at absolutely no point was I physically, emotionally, sexually or verbally abused by Anton.
‘At no point did Anton use manipulation or cruelty towards me during rehearsals. At no point did I feel vulnerable in Anton’s presence. Anton was generous, patient and hardworking.’
She added that she wanted those who have spoken out about alleged abuse on the show to be the focus, and warned about ‘witch-hunts have consequences that are far reaching and long lasting.’
She explained: ‘I am making this statement as I do not want to take the focus away from those who have bravely spoken out about the alleged abuse they experienced on the show.
‘I do not want my experience to be merged in with extremely serious and disturbing allegations from other contestants. The focus should remain with them and their stories, because their stories matter. Their stories must be addressed and investigated.
‘Also, it would be morally reprehensible if I allowed speculation about Anton to continue. It would be unfair for Anton to lose his livelihood, his reputation and his credibility because of an incident that happened 15 years ago and to the best of my knowledge has not happened since.
‘Witch-hunts have consequences that are far reaching and long lasting. I cannot in good faith along this guesswork to continue.’
Laila added that she did think it was important to speak out, but that if people took the opportunity to change, they should not be punished forever.
She said: ‘I believe where there is opportunity to talk things through, you must. I believe in having honest and sometimes uncomfortable conversations (provided you feel safe to do so) in order to learn and grow. I believe those willing who accept their misjudgement and change their behaviour mustn’t be condemn [sic] forever for their past mistakes.
‘However, the experiences I have personally heard, from other contestants, are incredibly concerning and far eclipse my own.
‘Needless to say, I have not made an official complaint to the BBC regarding Anton and I do not intend to. I do however welcome conversations with the BBC about their duty of care.’
Concluding her statement, she praised the bravery of those contestants who had come forward and called on the show to make ‘effective and satisfactory changes’.
She finished: ‘I have and will always stand with champions against abuse. I send them love and strength and hope their stories are heard and much is learnt. Their courage in speaking out is changing landscapes and inspiring others. Silence does not have to be an option.
‘Abuse of any kind should be taken very seriously so in light of that, I urge you to focus on these significant allegations so that the show makes effective and satisfactory changes. Laila x’.
Anton’s comments towards Laila in rehearsals caused major controversy at the time and resurfaced in the wake of the ongoing misconduct probe.
The pair appeared on Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two after the incident came to light in 2009, where Laila said: ‘We are getting through this together.
‘It’s been a tough week for both of us… But we just want to move on. This happened weeks ago and we’ve been getting on very well.’
Anton added: ‘I would just like to reiterate my apology from last weekend to Laila, to everybody on the show and to everybody that watches the show because I feel embarrassed, I feel stupid as well.’
He continued: ‘It was a stupid thing to do and a stupid thing to say and now people are talking about that when they should be talking about the show and what a great show it is.
‘As I say I am mortified about it, completely, and Laila has been quite remarkably wonderful.’
The late Strictly host, Bruce Forsyth, was also forced to backtrack in a formal BBC statement after he said the nation should get a ‘sense of humour’ about the controversy.
He had told radio station TalkSport: ‘We used to have a sense of humour about this. You go back 25, 30, 40 years and there has always been a bit of humour about the whole thing.
‘At one time the Americans used to call us ‘limeys’ which doesn’t sound very nice, but we used to laugh about it. Everybody has a nickname.’
But hours later a statement from Bruce was issued by the BBC, which read: ‘What Anton said to Laila was wrong and he has apologised unreservedly for this.
‘Nor do I in any way excuse or condone the use of such language. To be absolutely clear, the use of racially offensive language is never either funny or acceptable.
‘However, there is a major difference between this and racist comments which are malicious in intent and, whilst I accept that we live in a world of extraordinary political correctness, we should keep things in perspective.’
The statement added ‘these are my personal views and not necessarily those of the BBC’.
Strictly is currently facing its biggest crisis in its 20 years since it returned to the BBC in its current form as a wave of complaints from past celebrity contestants have been made in recent months over claims of ‘abuse’ and ‘bullying’.
Professional Graziano Di Prima, 30, was axed from the show following claims he hit and spat at his dancing partner Zara McDermott, 27, during rehearsals. He later admitted and apologised to Zara in a statement.
Weeks before, Giovanni Pernice , 33, was suspended while a BBC probe is conducted over claims of off-camera misconduct made by Amanda Abbington, 50, and two other former celeb partners.
While his former partner Laura Whitmore confirmed on Saturday that she has spoken to the BBC about Giovanni’s ‘inappropriate’ behaviour on the show.
The TV presenter claimed she initially raised concerns to the BBC six years ago, and said she has discussed with six former Strictly stars about their time on the show and took their information to the BBC.
James Jordan has also poured fuel on the flames of the Strictly bullying row after Steve Backshall complained that James’ wife Ola ‘bullied’ him while on the programme in 2014.
The former Strictly pro took to social media to make a jibe at the seasoned television explorer after it emerged that he lodged a complaint with the BBC over professional dancer Ola’s ‘rude and impatient manner’.
Responding to a Strictly fan’s mocking disbelief that the hardened explorer – who has dived with Great White sharks and wrestled poisonous snakes in his career – could be ‘reduced to tears’ by the 5ft 4in dancer, James joked: ‘Please help me!!’
MailOnline has revealed the show’s hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman could begin the new series with an apology for alleged abusive behaviour suffered by celebs in a desperate attempt to save the show.
BBC bosses are said to be desperate to draw ‘an immediate line’ under the scandal when it begins in September and sources have said it ‘can’t start quick enough’.
They said the presenters may be asked to address it at the start of the first show and could even say sorry after complaints from Amanda, Zara and Steve.
The insider told MailOnline: ‘This year’s Strictly is the 20th anniversary and it will be a celebration of the show and its history.
‘The BBC will want to draw an immediate line under what has happened. The show can’t start soon enough.’
It comes amid claims a host of Strictly celeb contestants have set up a ‘secret support group’ where they have shared their own horror stories and corroborated one another’s claims.
But Tess and Claudia may not address the sudden departures of Giovanni and Graziano.
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Source: Tampa Bay Times
