Oti Mabuse Accused of Burning Bridges After Strictly Criticism

Oti Mabuse has reportedly fallen out of favour with Strictly Come Dancing bosses after appearing to criticise the BBC show.

The 36-year-old professional dancer, who became one of Strictly’s most successful stars during her seven-year run, recently launched a podcast with her husband, Marius Lepure. On The Fifth Judge, the couple offer their opinions on the latest performances.

Although Oti’s sister, Motsi Mabuse, remains on the judging panel, Oti has not shied away from sharing her views on the programme. In the latest episode, she described the show as “uncomfortable to watch” and questioned some of the judges’ harsh scores.

Oti has remained friendly with Strictly since leaving the series in 2022 and has returned on several occasions as a choreographer. However, her recent criticism is said to have caused concern among senior figures at the show.

According to reports, the dancer may now not be invited back to work with Strictly in the near future, with insiders claiming there has been a change in attitude towards her.

A source told The Sun: “Oti’s comments have been viewed by some as rather unfavourable. She has not held back and has arguably been too honest, giving the impression that she was badmouthing the programme.”

Oti Mabuse has reportedly fallen out of favour with Strictly Come Dancing bosses after appearing to criticise the show

The professional dancer, 36, was one of Strictly’s most successful stars before launching The Fifth Judge with her husband, Marius Lepure, to review the latest dances [pictured on Strictly in 2016]

There was reportedly “some discussion” when Oti launched the podcast in September because it draws heavily on Strictly’s weekly performances. However, her strong relationship with the programme initially reassured those involved that she would not cross any lines.

Her more recent remarks are now said to have upset people behind the scenes at the BBC series.

The insider added: “Everyone has always supported Oti and wanted her to remain a loyal friend of the show, but that feeling has changed in recent weeks.

“It has been upsetting for those who have championed her to see. She probably will not be asked to work with the show again until the situation has settled.”

A second source defended Oti, insisting that she had “absolutely no malice” and never intended to upset anyone. They said she had aimed to offer professional feedback, similar to the assessments made by the judges.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Oti and Strictly Come Dancing for comment.

The reports follow Oti’s criticism of the “mean” judging on Strictly after viewers complained that the scores and voting appeared inconsistent during last Saturday’s show.

During the latest episode of her podcast, Oti said she found the programme “uncomfortable to watch” and questioned the tough scoring after Craig Revel Horwood gave Cach Mercer a four.

“Oti’s comments have been viewed by some as rather unfavourable. She has not held back and has arguably been too honest, giving the impression that she was badmouthing the programme”

“It has been upsetting for those who have championed her to see. She probably will not be asked to work with the show again until the situation has settled” [pictured: the judges]

On The Fifth Judge, the podcast she hosts with husband Marius Lepure, Oti said Strictly was “uncomfortable to watch” and criticised some of the harsh scores

Oti said: “The judging was crazy. I think some people were massively underscored.

“It was so uncomfortable to watch, and then I thought other people were massively overscored.”

She also suggested that head judge Shirley Ballas’s guest appearance on Dancing With The Stars had altered the tone of the competition. Oti joked that Shirley and Craig had ended up competing to be the show’s “mean judge”.

Oti continued: “I think Shirley went to America and was the mean judge, and she got all this press.

“She flipped Dancing With The Stars upside down, and then she came back to Strictly and flipped Strictly upside down.

“Then Craig said, ‘That’s my job. You can do it in America, but my job is to be the mean judge.’”

“What it did to me was make me think, ‘Oh, this is such a sad show.’ I can see these couples working so hard, and I can see Lacey [Turner] growing in confidence.”

“They made it about who could be the mean judge, and completely took away from the hard work put in by both the professionals and the celebrities.”

Marius then said: “Even Anton was being a bit too much.”

Oti briefly avoided discussing her sister Motsi before concluding: “Anyway, that was my rant.”