Strictly has gone ‘gay’? What do people thk they’ve been watchg all the years? | Emma Brock | The Guardian

Contents:

• JOHANN RABE ON BEG THE FIRST GAY BLACK MAN ON STRICTLY
• STRICTLY HAS GONE ‘GAY’? WHAT DO PEOPLE THK THEY’VE BEEN WATCHG ALL THE YEARS?
• STRICTLY: JOHN WHAE SAYS ‘PEOPLE MY LIFE’ TOLD HIM ‘DON’T BE TOO GAY’
• LOOSE WOMEN’S KAYE ADAMS HOP FOR ‘GAY’ PARTNER ON STRICTLY COME DANCG: ‘I DON’T WANT A HETEROSEXUAL’

JOHANN RABE ON BEG THE FIRST GAY BLACK MAN ON STRICTLY

I’m the first gay black man on Strictly. Both John and Johann are also openly gay, wh John recently suggtg an terview that such a pairg would be ‘important”. ” He add that he thought would be “really important for him” as beg an openly gay dancer, due to beg a “powerful msage”.

Yet, he noted that future a same-sex pairg don’t necsarily need to be two gay men for an all-male uple.

Strictly has featured a female same-sex uple before, boxer Nila Adams and Katya Jon, who peted durg the 18th season 2020, but Whae and Rabe (who both intify as gay) will be the show's first gay male pair. "Bee I'm dog the first all-male partnership, I genuely did thk that I was gog to receive a fair b of hate bee you do as a gay man, you get a lot of hate.

STRICTLY HAS GONE ‘GAY’? WHAT DO PEOPLE THK THEY’VE BEEN WATCHG ALL THE YEARS?

We've jt our first gay pairg Strictly Come Dancg.

STRICTLY: JOHN WHAE SAYS ‘PEOPLE MY LIFE’ TOLD HIM ‘DON’T BE TOO GAY’

(I swear I am gayt when watchg this, 's almost sad if I wasn't havg so much fun). Shame liv so eply wh me and other gay men that ocsnally ris to the surface so fast rults a few tears.

To see two gay men partnered together on Strictly Come Dancg really attacks the difficulti LGBTQ+ people face, both personally & visibly for society. This was FUCKING I’d seen somethg like this when I was younger, I’d have known beg gay was ok. I’d have known beg gay wasn’t somethg to be ashamed done #Strictly @jojo_rabe & John Wae??

Homophobia is a ser and ntug problem, but was difficult this week not to enjoy aspects of the hoo-ha over Strictly Come Dancg. In what felt like a historil re-enactment of classic 1970s’ curta-twchg, 189 viewers plaed to the BBC about two men partnerg each other on primetime telly, and was hard to know what to lgh at first: the Mary Whehoe tone of the plats, the statement on Instagram by one of the dancers – realisg the full dramatic potential of the moment – that “love knows no boundari”, or the ia that the spectacle of two men dancg uld ever be the gayt thg about Strictly. Nohels, there was somethg vaguely fortg about the fact that, particularly the ntext of the recent LGBT teachg row, mastream culture at least, plats of this kd about gay reprentatn seem outdated to the pot of schools, of urse, the battle rag on.

LOOSE WOMEN’S KAYE ADAMS HOP FOR ‘GAY’ PARTNER ON STRICTLY COME DANCG: ‘I DON’T WANT A HETEROSEXUAL’

I looked up the wordg of Sectn 28 and was amazed to fd that, until was overturned 2003, not only did ban lol thori om “promotg” homosexualy, but that, like somethg drafted by the Wtboro Baptist Church, banned “the teachg any mataed school of the acceptabily of homosexualy as a pretend fay relatnship”. Bt to refer them to Alan Partridge: “For cryg out loud, if I really uldn’t bear to nsort wh homosexuals, do you really thk I’d have pursued a reer televisn? HOME News Royal Showbiz & TV Sport Comment Fance Travel Entertament Life & Style TV & Rad Celebry News AJ PRITCHARD has opened up about his sexualy as the Strictly Come Dancg star spoke about avoidg labels an terview wh Gay Tim.

On the subject of not wantg to label himself, AJ Prchard told Gay Tim: “For me, has always been about beg happy that time.