Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse reveals she was told when she moved to Germany 'you'll never make it'

Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse has detailed her experience in the dance industry as a woman of colour.   

Born in South Africa, the older sibling of her Strictly sister Oti, grew up in Pretoria during the apartheid, and knew she ‘was a performer right from the start’. 

In an interview with The Sun, Motsi, 40, talked about her early childhood experiences with racism and how it spurred her on to become more determined- even when she was told at 18 upon her move to Germany: ‘You’ll never make it because black people are lazy’.

Her story: Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse has detailed her experience in the dance industry as a woman of colour

Speaking about how she was subjected to racism when she first started to compete as a child, Motsi said: ‘When it came to competitions against white children, I was made to feel unwelcome in the beginning. I didn’t fit in, I didn’t have the right costumes because we couldn’t afford them. 

‘There were structures in place to make sure the black dancers would never win. That kept me hungry. If I had won early and easily, I wouldn’t have gone through the journey I’ve been on, and that has made me stronger.

‘When I moved to Germany at 18 and was told, “You’ll never make it because black people are lazy”, well, that gave me the energy to prove them wrong.’

Mabuse became known in Germany in 2007 through the second season of the RTL dance show Let’s Dance, and went on to become a judge in 2011 (pictured in 2014) 

And when she was told she was performing the Latin American dances ‘wrong’, Motsi said the criticism only made her stronger as she was used to living ‘a harsh reality’ due to her upbringing in South Africa.

The Strictly judge explained how her parents, Peter, a judge, and Dudu, told her and her two sisters: ‘things will be more difficult’, but was told she had to ‘get up and pursue your dream’. 

In 1998 she was the runner up in the national championships. The following year she found her dance and partner, Timo Kulczak at the British Open Championships in Blackpool.  

Dancing queen: Born in South Africa, the older sibling of her Strictly sister Oti, grew up in Pretoria during the apartheid but knew she ‘was a performer right from the start’

Mabuse became known in Germany in 2007 through the second season of the RTL dance show Let’s Dance, and went on to become a judge in 2011. 

But the apartheid still had lingering memories in Motsi’s mind. The dancer explained how she is terrified of ‘big dogs’ as they were ‘used as weapons against us’. 

Motsi said while she didn’t understand what was going on as a child, the fear was instilled in her and it wasn’t until she became a mother that she began to heal from the ‘hurt and trauma’. 

Important: The Strictly judge explained how her parents told her and her two sisters: ‘things will be more difficult’, but was told she had to ‘get up and pursue your dream’

Elsewhere in the candid interview, the talented dancer spoke of how, when she had to appear on Strictly remotely last year after her German dance school got raided, she was inundated with praise from black women for showing off her natural afro hairstyle on TV.  

Strictly had a welcome boost in ratings overnight on Saturday.

Having suffered a coupling-up launch show low last week, with just over 7 million viewers, it seems fans were much more eager to watch the first run of live dances this weekend – bumping up to 8 million.

The BBC said an average audience of 7.9 million tuned in on Saturday night to watch the couples compete in front of the judges for the first time.  

Television presenter AJ Odudu impressed the judges as she topped the leaderboard alongside her partner Kai Widdrington with a score of 34 for her jive to Gold Dust by DJ Fresh.

Judge Motsi hailed her routine ‘the best dance of the evening, without a doubt’. 

Electric: Television presenter AJ Odudu impressed the judges as she topped the leaderboard alongside her partner Kai Widdrington with a score of 34 for her jive to Gold Dust