Strictly Come Dancing star Dianne Buswell has defended Shirley Ballas after the judge came under fire on social media for mispronouncing the dancer's name during Saturday night's show.
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The 33-year-old took to Instagram on Sunday to share a statement encouraging viewers to "be kind".
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She wrote: "Firstly thank you guys so much for all the support on our dance last night. It was a tough week but I am forever in awe of the hard work and dedication Tyler brings every single week.
"Another point I want to address is I have seen a lot of hateful comments aimed at Shirley for simply adding an a to the end of my name which doesn't offend me, but what does make me upset is seeing someone being bullied online."
She continued: "We are all human and doing the best we can. Let's all please be kind to one another and not put each other down.
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"Once again thank you for all your positive messages it really does mean a lot to us all."
© Photo: InstagramDianne released a statement on Instagram on Sunday
Fans were quick to applaud Dianne's message in the comments section, with one person writing: "Well said Dianne. Absolutely no need for all those hateful comments," while another added: "Well said Dianne. We love you. You guys were amazing last night."
The statement comes after viewers pointed out that Shirley had referred to Dianne as "Diana" when critiquing her and Tyler West's performance on Saturday. The pair earned a score of 29 following their elegant Viennese Waltz to I've Been Loving You Too Long by Seal.
© Photo: BBCDianne and Tyler performed a Viennese Waltz on Saturday
This isn't the first time that Shirley has been the target of online abuse during the latest series of the BBC show. In October, the 62-year-old was forced to speak out after receiving "hurtful messages" from fans accusing her of "biased favouritism" for certain couples.
"I have received many apologies over the weekend regarding hurtful messages I've received on social media. All apologies are accepted and from now on let's all respect each other and enjoy the show. Love to you all," she wrote on her official Twitter account.
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