Johannes Radebe has recalled being cruelly "punched many times" and "called a sissy boy" during a "horrid" time in his life.
The Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer, 35, has revealed the awful physical and verbal homophobic abuse he was forced to endure while at school in South Africa.
Dancer Johannes grew up in the township of Zamdela, near Johannesburg, and used to "duck and dive" from bullies.
Despite facing the awful nightmare of bullies in school, Johannes said he isn't bitter as he was "covered with love" by his mother.
Speaking to The Guardian about his childhood, the dancer recalled: "School was horrid. They used to say to me, ‘Oh, sissy boy!’ If the bullies were far enough away he might give a sassy retort.
"But if I was close by I would have been punched, which I was many times."
Johannes is glad to now be living in the UK, but added: "You guys have a long way to go still, but people make space for one another to coexist."
The TV star took up dancing and would perform during his primary school assembly.
Johannes said dancing would make him feel "invincible" as he added: "When you walk on to any dance floor you take up space in a room. The music started playing and I knew there was a place where no one can touch me."
He added how he wanted to "share with everybody" how much "joy and freedom this brings".
Johannes joined Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 and made history on the show as he was paired with John Whaite in 2021 – making the pair the first ever male same sex celebrity and dancer coupling on the programme.
The duo made it to the final and finished in second place.
Johannes and John remained close friends after the show ended and Johannes previously said he felt more comfortable discussing his sexuality with his mum since his pairing with John on the show.
He explained: "What happened between John and I last year really changed my relationship with my mother - for the first time, we can speak about my sexuality openly."
Not only did the pairing change his relationship with his mum, but it also had an influence on wider society, too.
Speaking about their participation on Strictly, Johannes revealed: "We’ve changed the narrative.
"Everybody can dance with everybody now."
Johannes is taking this mantra into his dance tour Freedom Unleashed, which he says is his "response" to the bullies and trolls on social media.
He said: "Freedom Unleashed is my response. There’s no shame here. The world will adjust."
It comes after the professional dancer opened up about his love life on Loose Women and fought back tears as he revealed he'd spent years "hating" himself.
He said: "I'm ready for love in my life."
Nadia Sawalha then asked the performer: "But you haven't been before have you, do you feel you've arrived there now?"
Johannes replied: "I feel like I have, I blame it on internalised homophobia and the fact that I have hated myself for such a long time.
"So I'm in a better place. I also deserve some love."
