Strictly Come Dancing male pro makes history by dancing in high heels
Johannes Radebe performed a voguing routine in high heels during the 2018 series. (BBC)
Twitter has declared Johannes Radebe the winner of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, after he became the first male pro in the show’s history to dance in high heels.
Strictly fans were bowled over by Sunday’s opening number, in which Radebe performed a voguing-inspired routine backed by two male dancers.
All three wore black PVC heels and waved handfans that read “pose”, “werk” and “slay” as they high-kicked, sashayed and death dropped across the ballroom floor.
i stan one man and his name is johannes pic.twitter.com/yTUzHMxrZu
— clown mom (@lallemvnt) October 20, 2019
Twitter momentarily turned into a Johannes Radebe fan forum as viewers praised the South African dancer for “shutting down toxic masculinity in two minutes”.
johannes radebe shutting down all middle aged men across and their toxic masculinity across the uk in 2 minutes. a true king ?pic.twitter.com/Ph0EbGXegO
— chloe » fan (@katyasbuswell) October 20, 2019
johannes went out there in that group number and showed to people that you can wear whatever you want to wear and still feel the best you’ve ever felt no matter of anything or what anyone thinks yes sis
— nat | fan (@busweIljoe) October 20, 2019
WE. ARE. NOT. WORTHY. OF. JOHANNES. RADEBE. ??#Strictly #SCD https://t.co/yporxnaNU6 pic.twitter.com/jNb8OXgMvd
— Sarah Doran (@sarahisnothere) October 20, 2019
johannes radebe https://t.co/7zjNFHvmPP pic.twitter.com/80VpJCX492
— nu (@steveharringtsn) October 20, 2019
One fan suggested that Redebe’s voguing skills were enough to land him a place on ballroom drama Pose.
can we get johannes radebe on pose can we make that happen
— kai-o’-lantern (@malachaiIatte) October 20, 2019
Catherine Tyldseley, the former Coronation Street actor who is Radebe’s partner on Strictly, paid her own tribute on Instagram.
Even the official account for Strictly Come Dancing – a show which, in 2019, is yet to acknowledge the fact that two men or two women might like to dance together – appeared to be getting its absolute life.
Our #Strictly Pros and Judges came to SLAY! ? pic.twitter.com/wXsX7a2zNY
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) October 20, 2019
Radebe thanked fans for their support on Monday morning, and said that he “cannot deal” with the outpouring of love.
Just opened Twitter! My poor heart ❤️ I cannot deal! Thanks a million…Oh what a time to be alive! ????❤️? pic.twitter.com/HFJExeojNS
— Johannes Radebe (@jojo_radebe) October 21, 2019
The 31-year-old has wowed fans since joining Strictly in 2018, and was this year allocated a celebrity partner for the first time.
Though Strictly failed to pair Radebe with another man, he will reportedly perform a same-gender dance routine with Graziano Di Prima on Sunday, November 3.
According to The Sun, show bosses hope that the performance will “pave the way for a same-gender couple next year”.
The show has already been beaten on the inclusivity front by its ITV rival Dancing On Ice, which announced that Steps singer Ian ‘H’ Watkins be the first celebrity paired with a skater of the same gender when the show returns in 2020.
