Who is Oti Mabuse? ‘Dancing on Ice’ judge received abusive messages during her stint on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’

Oti Mabuse is appearing as a new judge on Dancing on Ice (Image via Instagram/ otimabuse)
Oti Mabuse is appearing as a new judge on Dancing on Ice (Image via Instagram/ otimabuse)

Professional dancer Oti Mabuse has faced backlash for her stint on ITV’s Dancing On Ice, where she judged the skating competition. The actress opened up, saying this was not the first time she had received such negative feedback.

Oti Mabuse received abusive messages during her stint on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. Mabuse says she has been periodical “racially abused and fat-shamed.” But she said the negative experiences only made her stronger.


Who is Oti Mabuse?

Oti Mabuse is a Latin American and ballroom dancer who won the South African Latin American Championship eight times.

Mabuse earned several titles for her incredible moves during her initial dance career. In 2014, she won third place in World Cup Freestyle Latin and won second place in European Championship Latin. She even finished first place in German Championship PD Freestyle Latin.

Mabuse started her professional career as a dancer in 2015 with the British television dancing series Strictly Come Dancing. In the 13th series of the show, Mabuse partnered with the 33-years-old Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo and finished in 14th place.

For the next consecutive seasons, Mabuse paired up with many celebrities like actor Danny Mac, Jonnie Peacock, Paralympic sprinter Jonnie Peacock and England cricketer Graeme Swann to compete for the title but could not win until 2019.

During her fifth stint on Strictly Come Dancing in 2019, the dancer paired up with former Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher and won the Glitterball Trophy.

In 2020, Mabuse continued her winning streak on Strictly Come Dancing and won the trophy again with comedian and actor Bill Bailey, becoming the second professional dancer to win the show twice and the only contestant to win twice in succession.

By 2021, the 31-years-old dancer was featured as a panelist on The Masked Dancer and is now appearing as a new judge, replacing John Barrowman in the 14th series of Dancing on Ice.

Apart from judging and being a professional dancer, Mabuse is expanding her horizons and venturing into business.

After setting up Pure Mabuse Entertainment, Mabuse has reportedly set up a brand new property company, Lionshead Property, with her husband, Marius Iepure.

Married to Romanian dancer Iepure, whom she met in Germany, Mabuse moved from Germany in 2015 and resides in London with her husband.

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Edited by Srijan Sen