Strictly Come Dancing host Johannes Radebe has revealed he was targeted by a fellow pupil with a baseball bat while at school in South Africa for being gay.
Johannes, 39, grew up in Zamdela, South Africa, before leaving when he was 21. He spent eight years performing as a professional on the BBC show before becoming a presenter.
Attack in school
Johannes described South Africa as "a country where homosexuality was frowned upon" and admitted a fellow pupil approached him with a baseball bat while they were in school.
"This happened in school, a fellow pupil. I was terrified. All I can remember was asking, 'What have I done? What did I do to you?' He said, 'Well, you're a f****t and disgusting'," he told The Sun in 2019.
"We ended up physically fighting because when somebody comes at you with a baseball bat, I don't think you can just stand there. It was more jealousy – I was never there at school as I was usually away dancing in competitions."
Johannes added: "He was not a fan of me – he was punishing me for the fact that I am what I am."
Speaking to his mother
Johannes revealed that he only spoke to his mother about his sexuality after he performed on Strictly Come Dancing wearing a pair of black heeled boots in 2019. He recalled how the conversation was sparked after his friend was tragically killed in a homophobic attack.
"I only discussed my sexuality with my mom in 2019 after that heels performance on Strictly, so you can imagine that barrier and it hasn't been great," he told HELLO! Magazine.
"How we actually ended up talking about it was because a friend of mine was murdered and she came home and she said, 'Did you hear about Pule?' I said, 'Yes and did she hear why it happened?' And she said, 'No. I said, 'Because it was a homophobic attack,' and she was lost for words."
Johannes continued: "I said its sad because that could have happened to me because I'm gay, you know. We've never, ever, ever fully spoken about it.
"There's also lots of my life experience that I haven't shared with the people that I really, really, really love, which is my family. Hence why I've also been sceptical about getting into relationships with other men, I think I could never be in a position to just trust somebody like that with everything about my life."
The star added: "I'm grown now and I'm seeing things differently and I'm in a position to speak to my mom about everything now in my life."
New presenting role
Johannes made his debut as the new presenter of Strictly Come Dancing last month alongside Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe. Last week, Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden became the first pair to be eliminated from the show.
