July 19, 2024
Zara McDermott has refuted her Strictly Come Dancing dance partner Graziano Di Prima’s recent claim about mistreating her.
In his statement, Di Prima claimed that his behaviour during rehearsals - which included kicking and hitting Zara - was a “singular incident.”
Zara's spokesperson then told The BBC: “It's a matter of public record that the BBC deemed the conduct to be so severe that they removed him from the show immediately.”
“Zara has already confirmed in a statement released on her social media earlier this week that the reported conduct was not a singular incident.”
Her statement comes after Graziano's spokesperson Mark Borkowski denied that his client spat on Zara: “This week the news agenda has focused on an isolated incident that Mr Di Prima deeply regrets and apologised for at the time.”
“The deluge of commentary, too often without context or nuance, has provoked a pile-on that has left a young man in a very vulnerable state.”
In a previous statement, he told BBC News: “There is never a time when kicking, or any sense of that is right. And he knows that. He knows he's made a mistake. He apologised at the time.”
“But he doesn't recognise some of the issues surrounding it. The descriptions of what is being commented online, and how he remembers it, are not aligned.”
“He [Graziano] has literally cut himself off from civilisation. I think that's a wise thing to do, supported by his wife. He's coming to terms with his mental health issues.”