Strictly’s Layton Williams responds to ‘overwhelming’ online trolling
"I'm trying to handle this with a smile and determination to slay another day"
Strictly Come Dancing star, Layton Williams, has addressed an “overwhelming” amount of online trolling he’s been experiencing.
It comes off the back of a fantastic weekend for the performer, who scored four 9s from the judges and got a total score of 36. Layton, as well as his pro-partner, Nikita Kuzmin, danced the quickstep to Gregory Porter’s ‘Puttin’ On The Ritz’.
On Sunday, ahead of the broadcast of the results show, Layton posted on X, formerly Twitter. He said that the support he’d so far received had been “overwhelming, but so had “the low key trolling.”
Some fans had taken umbrage with Layton’s background in theatre, including in shows like Billy Elliot and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
Seeming to reference this Layton continued: “I’m just here to have fun like all the other contestants. I’m trying to handle this with a smile and determination to slay another day but reminder #BeKind.”
Then on Tuesday (3 October) the Strictly star added: “Today is a new day and I’m ready to slay! Thank you to everyone who’s reached out with positive vibes. I feel it and I’m so grateful.”
Responding to this, many fans continued to give Laytion their love and support, many telling him to ignore the haters. One person did comment that they felt Layton did have “an unfair advantage” because of his dance background.
Speaking to Attitude ahead of the start of Strictly 2023, Layton said he hoped “it’ll be a slay.”
Layton also said: “I feel like the best way for me to represent the community is [to] just be 100% authentically myself.
“Whether that’s how I dance, how I move, just being me. How I represent in the real world, I want to bring to Strictly.”
Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer every Saturday.