Strictly’s Thomas Skinner says he doesn’t regret controversial JD Vance photo – boasting they’ve even been DMing
The Apprentice star has since criticised "the left" over some of the backlash. Despite this, Skinner insists he would do it all again
By Callum Wells
Thomas Skinner says he has no regrets over posting his now-infamous photo with JD Vance – boasting the pair have even been exchanging DMs since.
The former Apprentice star, who’s set to take on Strictly Come Dancing this weekend, attended a summer barbecue at the 18th-century Dean Manor in the Cotswolds after the US vice-president spotted Skinner’s social media posts praising him.
But the appearance sparked backlash online, with Skinner even receiving death threats from angry fans. BBC director-general Tim Davie was even forced to wade in, defending their decision to include Skinner.
“I don’t regret it, I am a normal bloke and it was an amazing opportunity” – Thomas Skinner on accepting an audience with JD Vance
The Essex-native has since criticised “the left” over some of the furore, telling The Sun: “Since I posted that picture I’ve had loads of death threats. People saying they want me dead, saying I am this political figure that I’m actually not. I actually really ain’t. I couldn’t tell you what’s going on in the world right now.
My good friend Warren just landed from his holiday in Florida yesterday and he brought me this MAGA hat as a present. Still waiting on me cowboy hat….. But I’m wearing this one for the rest of the week. Happy Tuesday. Bosh❤️ pic.twitter.com/i76poE0qBZ
— Thomas Skinner ⚒ (@iamtomskinner) June 3, 2025
“Now the left seems to be attacking me every day on social media. The right seems to see me as this figurehead and it’s all been a bit much for me, if I’m honest with you. I was getting death threats and people calling me controversial. I was thinking, what have I ever done? What have I ever said that’s controversial? When you actually go through my tweets, apart from saying that knife crime is bad in London, yeah?”
Despite the abuse, Skinner insists he would do it all again.
“I don’t regret it, I am a normal bloke and it was an amazing opportunity. Put yourself in my shoes. What would you do? You’re a normal person,” he said. “And I’ve been given this opportunity to sit with the Vice President of the most powerful country in the world, the United States of America. To me that was, ‘Wow’. And I would have gone, whether it was the leader of France, Germany, I think to sit there and learn, and experience that, whether you agree with him politically or not, it wasn’t about that for me, it was literally to say, ‘I’ve sat there and met the Vice President of the United States of America’.”
“Someone has hacked your account” – India Willoughby’s reaction to his Strictly casting
He added: “Even when JD Vance sent me a DM, he was like, ‘Look I love your energy, keep it up, I love seeing the high energy and the positivity you spread’. Which is literally all I do, all I do is share videos of me having a roast dinner, and do a morning video to say, ‘Have a good day’, because I know what it’s like to wake up and feel like you can’t do this. I’ve been there, and that’s why I won’t ever give up spreading the positivity.”
Skinner is set to join a diverse cast including RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star La Voix and Ellie Goldstein – the first model with Down syndrome to grace a British Vogue cover – when the show returns on Saturday night.
So, it came as a surprise to many when he was confirmed last month in a post on the BBC Press Office’s X account.
Trans journalist India Willoughby reacted sharply, tweeting, “Someone has hacked your account.” Others took a more sarcastic approach. “April Fools was 134 days ago…” wrote another.
“I love Trump I think he is brilliant, that’s my opinion” – Skinner on the US president
Skinner has courted controversy before. In November 2024, he publicly declared his support for former US president Trump, writing on X: “I love Trump I think he is brilliant, that’s my opinion. I think it’s good he is back in charge, it will be good for the UK economy,” responding to criticism from Labour MP David Lammy.
Trump’s record on LGBTQ+ issues has been widely documented. GLAAD’s tracker shows over 320 attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, including the removal of the 988 suicide and crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth and the targeting of key HIV prevention and treatment programmes.
Just last week, Skinner shocked journalists when he abruptly stormed out of a press conference, grabbing a reporter’s phone. Addressing the incident himself, he shared a statement on Instagram the following day in which he apologised and admitted he was still working to “move past difficult moments in his past”.