By Asyia Iftikhar
Copyright metro
The Strictly Come Dancing contestant, Thomas Skinner, has responded after a resurfaced post on X (Picture: BBC)
Thomas Skinner has refuted the accusation that he once posted a homophobic slur just days after being booted from Strictly Come Dancing.
The former Apprentice star, 34, was the first to leave the dance floor with pro-partner Amy Dowden after a string of poor scores (and plenty of controversy).
Returning to social media after his exit, he shared a post on X thanking fans for ‘their lovely messages of support’.
‘I know I was rubbish at dancing, but it was so much fun. But back to reality. You are ten times stronger than you can ever imagine……so don’t give up!!’ he added.
Underneath the post, one X user, Gabe Itch, resurfaced an X interaction from October 2021 when Skinner visited Ikea and posted: ‘Let’s be honest. You can’t come here and not have the meatballs!!’
One follower, EssexPR, responded with the F slur, simply writing: ‘F*****s’
Skinner was quick to point out the name of the meatballs used by the brand Mr Brain (Picture: X/Thomas Skinner)
He was the first celebrity to leave this year’s Strictly (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)
To which Skinner replied: ‘I love a f****t. Mr Brains was the Guvna.’
Gabe Itch quoted this final post, saying: ‘Good morning homophobe’. But Skinner was quick to respond, defending himself.
‘What is wrong with you lot. I’m talking about my dinner,’ he replied alongside a photo of the Mr Brain’s pork product, which shares a name with the F slur, and is still available to buy in stores like Tesco.
The TV personality has previously been criticised for his association with US Vice President JD Vance after spending time with him in the Cotswolds this summer.
He has previously been called out for his political leanings (Picture: @iamtomskinner/X)
That comes alongside praising Republican US President Donald Trump as ‘brilliant’ and ‘good for the British economy’, taking shots at the ‘woke brigade’ and buddying up to controversial Tory MP Robert Jenrick.
All of which has caused some viewers to label him far-right, something he has denied, saying it is ‘not far-right [to be] flying your flag and loving your country’.
On Strictly over the weekend, the duo found themselves in the bottom two with Chris Robshaw and Nadiya Bychkova and performed their Salsa to Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal in an attempt to save themselves.
Discussing their exit with host Tess Daly, Skinner said: ‘I’ve loved it. I’ve never danced before, and my stay was short, but Amy’s amazing. It’s been great fun and I’ve enjoyed it.
Skinner’s appearance on Strictly was surrounded by controversy (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)
‘I can’t really dance that well but I’ve had fun! Thank you, Amy – sorry that we haven’t done too good, ‘cause you’re a different class.’
Meanwhile, Dowden had returned to the BBC reality series after being given the all clear following her diagnosis with an aggressive form of stage three breast cancer.
Speaking about her short time on the new series, she said: ‘I’ve got to know the real Tom, and he is adorable. He’s looked after me. We’ve laughed so much.
‘We’ve worked so hard and a glitterball would have been amazing but what I’ve learnt in the last few years is happiness, health and being alive is more important than anything.’
Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday at 6:05pm on BBC One.
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