Graziano Di Prima has hit back at ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ same-sex dance complaints.
The 25-year-old professional dancer – who joined the ballroom competition in 2018 – slammed the 200 complaints the BBC received after he took to the floor with fellow pro Johannes Radebe in November.
Speaking to Attitude magazine, Graziano said: "Why should I care about 200 people? Are you kidding me? Those 200 people, you will see that in the future they will change their minds.
"It is such a silly thing because dancing is for everyone."
Despite the complaints, Graziano is determined to focus on the positive views of his historic dance.
He said: "We weren’t worried about it.
"OK, there were 200 complaints, but there were millions of people writing to us, sending us videos saying thank you and celebrating our friendship. And for [Johannes], as a gay man, it means the world."
As rival TV show ‘Dancing on Ice’ is set to make TV history with its first same-sex celebrity pairing – with former Steps singer Ian ‘H’ Watkins and Matt Evers joining forces – on Sunday (05.01.20), some ‘Strictly’ fans have questioned if the BBC show will ever feature a celebrity same-sex couple of its own.
But Graziano believes it is up to the dancers themselves to find a way to make it happen.
He said: "All people are different. I don’t think it’s a problem. Of course, it’s up to us professional dancers to find a way to show the best side of the contestant we’re paired with.
"I think that people would love to see people of the same sex dancing together.
"As long as you are at peace with yourself and you love what you do, what is wrong with it? We are in 2020."