24 October 2023 , 07:53
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Amanda Abbington took drastic action in a bid to avoid being the subject of online trolling after signing up to take part in this year's Strictly Come Dancing competition.
The 49-year old and her professional dance partner, Giovanni Pernice, were notable absentees from week four's live shows, citing Amanda's "medical reasons" as an explanation for their no-show. The pair were expected to return for the series' Halloween special this Saturday, however, after presenter Tess Daly told viewers: "As per the rules of the competition, she's been given a bye and all being well will return to the ballroom next weekend. Amanda, we are all sending you so much love."
Initially, Amanda remained tight-lipped about her absence, only to break her silence by sharing a "Positive Minds" snap to her Instagram story, which quoted the late actor Robin Williams. It read: "People don't fake depression... they fake being okay. Remember that. Be kind."
But by Monday evening she had quit the BBC1 show for good. In a statement on spin-off, It Takes Two, host Fleur East read: "Amanda Abbington is unable to continue in Strictly Come Dancing and has decided to withdraw from the competition. The show wishes her all the best for the future." Fleur then showed Amanda and Giovanni's best bits on the show, before sending her own well wishes to the actress.
It comes after Amanda took the huge step of deleting her X (formerly Twitter) account in August for fear of a backlash from trans activists. In the months prior to Strictly commencing, she had be vocal on the social media platform in her opinions on trans matters.
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Amanda quit Strictly on Monday after missing the week four live shows on health grounds (BBC)In March she reacted to a video of Caba Baba Rave - a sensory and cabaret show designed for parents and their little ones aged up to 24 months. It prompted the Sherlock star to hit out: "If you think it is [for babies], there is something fundamentally wrong with you."
She later explained her stance: "I lost quite a few followers for saying that a semi-naked man in thigh high boots dancing in a highly sexualised way shouldn’t be performing in front of babies and it tells me everything I need to know about where society is heading. How do you not agree with me on this?"
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Insisting her remark wasn't transphobic, however, she added: "I never mentioned the trans community! How on earth is my post transphobic? I'm saying you do not perform that kind of act in front of BABIES. It's abhorrent."
It followed a previous trans row ignited by Amanda in which she stated that breastfeeding shouldn't be attempted if you don't have "proper" breasts. She said: "If you don’t actually have proper, real breast milk in your breasts, just don’t try and breastfeed your baby."
Amanda was also forced to apologise in 2020 for comments in which she claimed people born with male anatomy shouldn't be referred to as women. "I wish to profoundly apologise for the comment I made about trans people," she later admitted. "It was ill-informed and incredibly hurtful."
Amanda took to Instagram recently to discuss trans remarks she made on her now-deleted X (Twitter) account (@amanda_abbington74/Instagram)
Amanda broke her silence after her exit with a post about mental health (instagram/ @amanda_abbington74)After the past tweets resurfaced last week, Amanda took to her Instagram account to issue a lengthy video statement about the remarks. She explained: "Apparently I'm trending on Twitter. I'm not on Twitter anymore. I left voluntarily because I don't like it over there anymore. I'm trending because people are going to boycott Strictly and I think it's because of a tweet I made back in March regarding a drag show.
"Now, I need to make this very clear. I love drag. I think it's an amazing form of entertainment and I f***ing love drag queens. I think they're hilarious and brilliant, and it's an art form. And I think there's absolutely a place for it in the entertainment industry.
"My son played Jamie in Everyone's Taking About Jamie and he was a wonderful drag queen, he was wonderful in it 'But my tweet back in March was regarding a 12-year-old who was doing it in front of adults and it just upset me because I saw a kid, a little kid, a 12-year-old doing something very over-sexualised and I didn't think it was right.
'Personally speaking, I don't think 12-year-olds should be performing in drag shows in overtly sexual ways because they're 12 and they need a childhood. It's nice for kids to have a childhood and grow up, and find that out when they're old enough to really understand it. That was my tweet. I didn't associate it with the trans community, nor would I associate that with the trans community because I think they're two separate things.
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'I'm not transphobic, I'm not a transphobic person, I'm a firm supporter of the legitimate trans community, I always have been. I think they have been infiltrated by some people who want to cause damage and want to cause trouble, and pit people off of each other and cause as much harm as possible. But I would support any trans person who is feeling persecuted or not listened to, or not seen, of course I would. I'm not a nasty person."
A source told the Sun on Monday: "After she was officially unveiled as a Strictly contestant there was a big backlash from activists to some of her Twitter views. She removed the account not long after so those tweets can no longer be jumped upon by people who do not agree with her views."
Mirror Online has invited a representative for Amanda to comment.
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