Strictly viewers brand Shirley Ballas ‘unnecessarily vile’ after harsh critiques
VIEWERS flocked to social media to slam Shirley Ballas during this weekend’s Halloween-themed Strictly shows thanks to her particularly harsh critiques.
The head judge had fans up in arms for dishing out scathing remarks and issuing low points to some of the celebrities and their dance routines.
One comment accused her of being ‘an ice queen all series’, not just for Halloween, referring to the costume she dressed in for Saturday’s seasonal show.
“Is it just me or is she unnecessarily vile?” they remarked on Reddit. “Is the criticism helpful, is she funny, is she entertaining? IMHO no!”
The backlash seemed to kick off when Shirley made notably harsh comments about Delta Goodrem’s Viennese Waltz and Tabby Stoecker’s Quickstep.
Another typed on X: “Is Shirley ok tonight? Giving Tabby a 5 for that dance. It was clearly way better than a 5. She needs to get out of her mood, ruining the vibe of the show!”
Someone else added: “Shirley being harsh on Delta and Tabby but giving John stupid amounts of praise?”
After awarding five points to Tabby Stoecker’s Quickstep, a further fan fumed: “A FIVE?! Shirley, I am stealing that five panel from you. IT’S BEEN OUT TOO MUCH, AND IT’S UNFAIR EVERY TIME!”
Another fan seethed that the scoring was “truly ridiculous” as someone else chimed in: “Constructive teaching is one thing, but it is the delivery that grates.
“Sometimes it feels like a subtle put-down wrapped up with a joke at the end to deflect, and she occasionally undermines the other judges rather than just disagreeing with them!”
Others leapt to Shirley’s defence, with one saying: “She puts forward good, constructive feedback. To be honest, I do think most teachers who train athletes or dancers (even musicians) come across this way.”
Another posted: “She is a judge and a dance teacher. It’s literally her job to tell them what went wrong and how to improve.
“I don’t think she’s vile and I find her entertaining at times. I think her criticism is often constructive and useful unlike some other judges.”
This comes as other fans deemed Shirley solely responsible for condemning one star to the dance-off with a surprising comment ahead of the huge twist that saw three couples in the dance-off this weekend.
Shirley upset fans when she told House of the Dragon actor Bethany Antonia and her pro partner Nancy Xu: “As you move forward, and if you’re fortunate enough to, I would like you to start going for things.”
Disgruntled fans flocked to social media and one wrote: “Did Shirley just say ‘if you’re FORTUNATE enough’ to move forward to Bethany?? No words…”
A second added: “Lol Shirley more or less damning Bethany to a dance -with that one comment.”
Indeed, Bethany and Nancy did find themselves in the dance-off against Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu and Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystał, but it was the latter who left the competition.