Karen Hauer has added her voice to Oti Mabuse's criticism of AJ Pritchard after he suggested the BBC show should prioritise British dancers in its professional line-up. The Venezuelan-born dancer, who left Strictly this year after 14 years as the show's longest-serving female pro, described his comments as "low".
Karen's response to AJ's comments
Speaking about AJ's remarks, Karen said: "As an immigrant, I've worked everywhere, and I think that our world right now is about seeing different things. Maybe there's dancers here in the UK that don't want to join the show, that haven't come forward."
She highlighted the unique demands of being a Strictly professional, saying: "It's a very unique casting. Not only do you have to be a good dancer, you have to be a good teacher, you have to be good at talking. You don't just dance on Strictly, you're a coach, you're a therapist, your communication skills have to be very good."
Oti's earlier criticism
Oti Mabuse had previously responded to AJ's comments on TikTok, calling him "so controversial" and remarking it was "so funny". She said: "I think AJ has said a lot of things about Strictly as a brand and – I don't even know how to word this – he might have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way with his personality. We can admit that as well."
Oti pointed out that the most popular pros were often not British, naming Aljaz Škorjanec, Giovanni Pernice, Janette Manrara, Vito Coppola, Nikita Kuzmin, Alexis Warr and Katya Jones.
Karen's further remarks
Karen also referenced AJ's participation in a Dancing With The Stars spin-off in America, saying: "You don't hear Americans say we need only Americans. We're all immigrants, we're all doing the best that we can, and we're all gonna take the opportunities that we can. So yeah, it was a little bit low of him to say that. Don't say that."
She added: "I love AJ, I think he's brilliant, he's very, very talented, and he took an opportunity [in the US] and everyone will take the opportunities that come to them, so all good. He's always well spoken, I think he probably just didn't really think about [his comments] too much."
Oti had also suggested that AJ's comments came from a place of fear, saying: "Whatever he's doing and he's saying is coming from a place of being scared and wanting to be good enough, which essentially means that maybe he doesn't feel like he's good enough." She admitted it would be "tough" for him to "come back from this" as it was his "last chance".
