Zara McDermott has finally spoken up on former dance partner Graziano Di Prima’s sacking by Strictly Come Dancing after his abusive behavior came into light.
Taking to Instagram today, she posted quite a lengthy note, explaining why she chose to stay silent until now.
For the unversed, Graziano Di Prima had allegedly spat and kicked her during their rehearsals on the BBC competition series. She even passed out on one occasion.
Zara McDermott wrote, “When I was invited to be a contestant on Strictly, it really was a childhood dream come true.”
She expressed of “fully understanding” the amount of commitment required, slipping in that her fellow contestants as well as the production team were “amazing to work with.”
But the TV personality’s “experience inside the training room was very different.”
“Reports have been made about my treatment on the show and there were witnesses to some events, as well as videos of particular incidents which are incredibly distressing to watch,” she went on.
Zara McDermott added, “I have wrestled with the fear of opening up – I was scared about public backlash, I was scared about my future, I was scared of victim shaming.”
With time, she found the encouragement to face these face, and ended up testifying to BBC, indirectly making it clear that those claims about Graziano Di Prima were true.
