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Celebrity

21st Oct 2022

Strictly’s Motsi Mabuse was made “hide” her hair

Ellen Fitzpatrick

She’s speaking out.

Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse has opened up on the incredible hairstyles she shows off on the show each week, but was once told she should “hide” it.

The ballroom and Latin pro has had a lot of viewers talking about her beautiful hair every week, leaving many in awe of her box braids and the way she styles her hair on the show.

But now Motsi has revealed that her hair is actually much more than just to look cool, there is a deeper meaning behind it.

“So even things that I’m really loving to celebrate now, which seem so little to other people, like celebrating my own hair — the way my hair grows, what I can do with my hair — it’s something as a child I didn’t see,” she told The Sun.

‘It was always more like, “hide your hair, get your hair under control,”‘ she added.

The judge also noted that to get her amazing hairstyles, she needs to sit in a chair “for the whole day”.

This isn’t the first time Motsi has spoken about her experience with racism, telling Prima: “I lived under apartheid until the age of nine, which was a very scary time.

“My parents, Peter and Dudu, and my younger sisters, Phemelo and Oti, and I lived in a Black-only suburb, and I didn’t speak English when I first went to school, which was difficult.

“We were sent to a Catholic school run by nuns and Black children were a minority. One of the nuns would call us “Black witches” and hit us. I was terrified.”