Dancing on Ice judge Oti Mabuse delivered a powerful message as she told Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu "it's not a bad thing to be sexy", after the Love Island winner received Ofcom complaints over her risque routine in her show debut.
Ekin-Su showed off a drastically different look this week, as she dressed as Maria Von Trapp, complete with a cropped blonde wig, when she and professional skating partner Brendyn Hatfield took on The Sound of Music for their routine.
It was a huge change from her first performance, when she skated to Britney Spears' Toxic, wearing a sequinned catsuit, and crawling on the ice, in a homage to one of her most iconic Love Island moments.
The routine sparked more than 100 Ofcom complaints, with some viewers calling it "inappropriate" for a "family show". However, this evening judge Oti shut down the critique.
Following Ekin-Su's performance to Do Re Mi, Oti told her she should be proud of herself, and she was pushing herself.
She went on: "Keep pushing yourself, but also I want you to stay true to yourself because you're such a beautiful young girl. Remember that, it isn't a bad thing to be sexy. It's a power that we have as women."
Oti's comments were met by cheers from the audience and clapping from Brendyn.
Ekin-Su found herself in the bottom two after week one, but beat John Fashanu in the skate off.
Following her victory in the skate-off, judge Jayne Torvil admitted she was surprised by the outfit choice, but praised Ekin-Su for putting all into her performance and said she was the right person to go through.
Speaking on ITV's Loose Women, Jayne said: "I was a little bit surprised, I have to say, but it was in keeping with the song and the Love Island connection so I see how that was.
"But she's a really lovely girl and she's taken it all on board. And in her skate off, she definitely deserved to go through."
Ahead of her having to perform again in the skate-off, the star admitted she cried for days but told herself to be strong.
As she spoke to host Holly Willoughby, Ekin-Su said: "I'm not gonna lie, I was really upset over the past two days. I questioned myself and what I had done wrong.
"[I said to myself] you know what, stop this crying Ekin.
"You are a strong woman, take on the notes from the judges, work hard and I really wanted to prove myself.
"We’ve been working really hard and I am here today."
Following the complaints, Ekin shared a defiant message.
The Love Island winner hit back with a positive message of self-acceptance, as she told her fans on Twitter : "Don’t ever compare yourself to others. You are not a copy, you are an original. Craft your own individuality and sense of style! And just be yourself.”
In another tweet, Ekin-Su added: "Don’t study me. You won’t graduate."
