Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse had a candid conversation with fellow I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! campmate Maura Higgins about the impact of body shaming.
The dancer, 34, said that she gets “so many comments about [her] body” when she appears on TV, with some people criticising her weight.
Mabuse, who made Strictly Come Dancing history in 2020 when she became the only professional to win the show for two consecutive years, said that she found comments about weight gain particularly hard because she is “the healthiest [she’s] ever been”.
“I used to find it difficult because my weight gain wasn’t actually my fault, it was me getting over a weight problem,” she said.
“It was me actually not starving myself, not being on laxatives, not smoking, being a vegan. It was actually me being healthy for the first time and I really struggled being like, ‘why are people calling me fat?’
“Actually, this is the healthiest I’ve ever been. I was underweight, I didn’t get my period for months. I didn’t eat, we would dance all day, we would drink but we wouldn’t eat.
“My ribs were sticking out. And back in those days it was like, ‘Oh, she’s amazing, she’s got a nice body’ but I was like, ‘No, but this is me being healthy.’”
Higgins, who first found fame as a contestant on Love Island in 2019, said that she has also faced body shaming.
“I get [told] that I’m fat, and then I get [told] that I’m underweight,” she said.
Mabuse gave birth to her daughter, her first child with dancer husband Marius Iepure, in November 2023. During her stint in the jungle, she previously spoke candidly about facing abuse online after she returned to work as a judge on Dancing on Ice a few months after becoming a mother, revealing that social media users had told her to “stay at home with your baby”.
I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! continues on ITV1 and ITVX every night at 9pm.
For anyone struggling with the issues raised in this piece, eating disorder charity Beat’s helpline is available 365 days a year on 0808 801 0677. You can visit their website here.
NCFED offers information, resources and counselling for those suffering from eating disorders, as well as their support networks. They can be reached by phone on 845 838 2040 or their website here.
