Katya Jones has issued a defiant statement in support of her Strictly Come Dancing partner Wynne Evans following an awkward moment on Saturday night.
The duo, who’ve been impressing the likes of Shirley Ballas and co with their dance routines, sparked rumours of a feud among BBC viewers following a handful of on-screen antics.
Jones said in a video shared on Instagram: “Happy Sunday everyone. Now, I need to make something crystal clear…
“The hand incident that happened on Saturday night was an inside – a very silly, very silly inside joke between Wynne and I.
“So even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in me in any way is complete nonsense. It’s quite absurd actually.
“Now, can we just focus on how brilliantly he’s doing and what an amazing dancer he’s becoming?” she implored before being cut off by a delivery driver arriving at her home.
BBC Strictly: Katya Jones pushed Wynne Evans’ hand away after he touched her torso
BBC
Jones echoed the sentiment in the accompanying caption as she penned: “I need to make something crystal clear.
“The hand incident that happened on Saturday night was a very silly inside joke between Wynne and I. So even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is complete nonsense.
“It’s actually absurd. So let’s focus on how brilliantly @wynneevans is doing and what an amazing dancer he’s becoming! Happy Sunday everyone!”
Despite the explanation, several of Jones’ fans were divided by her stance, with one hitting out at the ordeal: “Millions of people sit down to watch to watch this and how many of them have been inappropriately touched?
“To see that on tv, the man looking sleezy and the woman looking uncomfortable with no context – you didn’t seem to laugh would concern and sicken a lot of viewers. Maybe that’s something to think about?”
However, others rushed to Evans and Jones’ defence, including a second who argued: “People are acting very silly about it all. Hope you and Wynne are ok and can just focus on next weeks dance. All the best.”
BBC Strictly: Katya Jones and Wynne Evans had impressed the judges with their performance earlier in the show
BBC
And a third hit out at the backlash: “It’s a sad indictment on modern society that such a post was necessary.
“The internet has given people the ability to destroy people’s careers & in some cases lives simply because they think that because they can see it in text, their opinion must carry weight.” (sic)
Jones’ video on Sunday night came 24 hours after both she and Evans addressed their awkward on-air behaviour.
The Russian dancer insisted “we were messing around” in regards to the high-five snub while Evans added: “We wanted to say sorry. It was a silly joke.”
