Yahoo News Will Bayley hits back at 'woke' backlash over Strictly complaints
The Paralympian has complained to the BBC over his injury 'for years', but has been accused of jumping on a 'woke' bandwagon by Strictly fans.
Watch: Will Bayley hits back at 'woke' backlash over Strictly complaints
What did you miss?
Will Bayley has hit back at accusations that he has joined a "woke bandwagon" in complaining about Strictly Come Dancing, saying he has tried to talk to the BBC about it "for years".
The Paralympic table tennis player suffered a serious injury after jumping from a table in rehearsal for a routine in the 2019 series of Strictly and had to have reconstructive surgery on his knee last year.
He has complained about a lack of duty of care for disabled contestants on the BBC One show, but revealed that he had received some shocking criticism that had included being labelled "disgusting" and "woke" for airing his concerns.
Read more: Strictly's Janette Manara says there have been no complaints about her
What, how, and why?
Paralympic athlete Will Bayley has hit back at Strictly fans who labelled him "disgusting" and "woke" for complaining about a lack of duty of care for disabled contestants.
Bayley was forced to withdraw from Strictly 2019 after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during a rehearsal where he was encouraged to jump from a table. He was left needing reconstructive knee surgery and feared he would not be able to compete at the Tokyo Paralympics, but claims there has been a lack of communication from the BBC over the incident.
Talking to This Morning about the extra care he would like to see in place for disabled Strictly contestants, Bayley said: "I'm scared to say it because I sound woke, some people say, but I mean Jesus if you can't say that then I don't know what you can say."
He continued: "I'm not bringing this up now, I've written to the BBC. People say I'm joining the bandwagon, I've had loads of people like Strictly supporters saying you're disgusting for joining this bandwagon.
"I've said this for years but because there are other things coming out, people are starting to listen to what I've got to say for the first time."
Read more: The Strictly Come Dancing scandal timeline
The show has hit headlines recently after professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima were both dropped from the show amid complaints about their conduct towards their partners.
Amanda Abbington dropped out of the 2023 series and made complaints about Pernice's behaviour in training, while Zara McDermott has spoken to the BBC about her experiences after footage from her training sessions with Di Prima came to light.
Bayley, who has arthrogryposis, a condition which affects all of his limbs, and was also diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma during childhood, continued: "I just wanted to say that because I've had so many people so negative about what I've said and it's not about that, it's about how we move forward.
"It's really not my personality to be negative, but any good corporation would learn from these kind of mistakes and I've got to live with this injury forever and some kind of responsibility, some kind of apology would have been amazing to hear."
He added: "I've been through a lot worse, I can deal with people's comments. If it helps disabled people, not just in Strictly but in the workplace, it is harder for people with a disability going into any kind of situation like that.
"To be put into a situation like that, it's really not great and I wouldn't want someone else to go through that. There should be more support for people, there are way more dangers for people with disabilities. People get injured anyway, injuries happen, but mine could have definitely been avoided I believe, if the right care was in place, and I hope that it changes."
What else did Will Bayley say about Strictly?
Bayley told This Morning that he had nothing but good things to say about dance partner Janette Manrara - but thought the show needed experts to work with disabled contestants so that dancers weren't left with the responsibility of avoiding injuries.
He said: "There's a lot of things to learn from my injury and from my fall jumping off a table. I don't think that's on (Manrara) at all.
"People with disabilities like I've got, there has to be someone to help those dancers because it's a massive burden to have to take on, to look after someone with a disability. It's great that the show want people with different disabilities but they have to be protected as well and I don't think that should all go on the dancer to do that, I think there should be some kind of expert to look after those people.
"If it does help one person to not have an injury like mine then that it unbelievably good and unbelievably positive."
He also spoke about his concerns over how he had been treated after suffering an injury, saying: "Obviously it was traumatic for me having a disability anyway, having Tokyo coming up which got delayed (because of Covid), I was so lucky that I got the chance to compete. But it was really hard for me at the time.
"Everyone who knows my life story knows I've been through a lot worse. But it was still very challenging."
Bayley said he was left not being able to walk for six months and feeling lonely.
He said of the BBC: "I was grateful they covered my surgery. I felt there wasn't a lot of communication after my surgery. Immediately after my fall I did just go to a hotel room and got ice on my knee. If that was my daughter I would want her to be taken to hospital and be checked out straight away. I had to sit there all night...I was put in a hotel room after tearing my ACL and I felt that probably wasn't the best move."
A comment from the BBC said: "We have a longstanding protocol for dealing with injuries if they occur and that includes contestants receiving all necessary treatment and support as required."
Janette Manrara's spokesperson told Yahoo: "Janette had a great time dancing with Will and one of her favourite moments on the show was doing their contemporary couples choice. Her celebrity partner's safety and enjoyment was always the priority throughout her time on Strictly. Janette has never received any complaints and has maintained friendships with all her partners, including Will."
What else has Will Bayley said about the BBC's response?
Bayley also spoke to BBC Breakfast on Tuesday about his experiences after getting injured on Strictly.
Sharing his story about contacting them to complain about safety measures for disabled contestants, he said: "I got a response and I was in a bit of a depression when I read it back. I just found it really depressing. It was kind of like ‘We’ve done everything we can do, and we support you’.
"It felt like I was making a mountain out of a molehill. That’s how I felt that it was. I just hope it gets listened to now and some adaptions get made because of my story."
This Morning airs on ITV1 at 10am on weekdays.
