Strictly’s James Jordan on same-sex dance couples: ‘It’s wrong’
By Will Stroude
James Jordan has slammed the idea of including same-sex dance couples on Strictly Comes Dancing, saying it’s “fact” that ballroom dancing is about “a man dancing with a woman”.
The professional dancer – who was axed from the BBC One show in 2014 after eight seasons – was responding to Strictly judge Craig Revel-Horwood’s recent comments that the celebrity dance competition could feature a same-sex pairing “this year or next”, FemaleFirst reports.
Jordan – who is married to dance partner and fellow Strictly professional Ola Jordan – told The Sun: “It’s wrong. I think they would lose so many viewers.
“I have nothing against same-sex couples, if they want to go and do their own competitions.
“But ballroom and Latin dancing is about a man dancing with a woman – that’s fact.
“I put it on Twitter that I don’t agree and people called me homophobic. But I’m not, I have lots of gay friends. Why must we change everything because it’s [politically correct]?
“It annoys me that people like Craig can say this because he’s gay. That’s the only reason he’s pushing it.”
The 37-year-old added that it would be impossible for the show’s judges to score a same-sex performance.
“I don’t think it would go down well. You can’t compare a man and a woman dancing with each other to two men dancing with each other, it’s stupid.
“The world is going crazy with this gender stuff at the moment.”
He explained that he would not mind seeing a transgender celebrity take part however, adding: “I don’t mind if Bruce Jenner comes on the show as a woman and dances with a man. But not as a man. Because he is now Caitlyn.”
The latest outburst echoes comments Jordan made while appearing on Celebrity Big Brother last year, where he told fellow housemates:“I do not agree with men dancing with men.”
Strictly featured its first same-sex dance last year, when professional dancer Robin Windsor danced with reigning champion Aljaž Skorjanec – click here to watch the moment.
Last year, gay Radio 1 presenter Scott Mills defended the BBC’s decision to pair him with a woman during the competition, saying that same-sex pairings don’t “work as well in things like ballroom”.
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