Mark Ballas' Mom Shirley Might Quit Her TV Gig Over Online Harassment

Mark Ballas' Mom Shirley Might Quit Her TV Gig Over Online Harassment,Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas hinted at leaving the series over the online harassment she faces from trolls questioning her decisions. She was left in tears after seeing hateful comments after each episode last season. Ballas, 62, is known as the 'Queen of Latin' for specializing in [...]

Mark Ballas’ Mom Shirley Might Quit Her TV Gig Over Online Harassment

Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas hinted at leaving the series over the online harassment she faces from trolls questioning her decisions. She was left in tears after seeing hateful comments after each episode last season. Ballas, 62, is known as the “Queen of Latin” for specializing in Latin dance and is the mother of Dancing With the Stars professional dancer Mark Ballas.

“Last year I was struggling. It wasn’t just a little bit, it was a lot – the majority of it was in silence,” Ballas told The Mirror on March 25. “I felt the abuse snowballed out of control and impacted me in such a negative way. I’m a pretty stoic person, and I tend to hold everything in.”

Ballas said she was “embarrassed about being so emotional” and didn’t want to talk to anyone. However, the BBC was “brilliant” and offered her counseling and support. She said the negativity she experienced during the most recent season was at “an all-time low.”

The BBC is in talks to keep Ballas on the show, but she refused to commit to returning just yet. “Will I go back to Strictly? I always take one step at a time,” she said. “I absolutely love the job. If it was just that, and there was nothing else surrounding it, I can’t think of a more rewarding job to do.”

This past season of STC saw Ballas stuck casting deciding votes, which made her a magnet for abusive comments from fans of eliminated contestants. “At one point I had thousands of messages coming in if I sent someone home. Some of the messages were truly awful,” she told The Mirror. “It didn’t matter what I did, I didn’t like old people, I didn’t like young people, I didn’t like men, I didn’t like women. I just felt like no matter what I said, I couldn’t win.”

Ballas also received negative comments about her appearance. “Some people did also attack how I looked. But I’ve had husbands in the past who haven’t critiqued me in the best light, so I’ve built a wall around that,” she said. “I don’t need anyone to say to me, ‘You’ve got thin hair, why are you using extensions, your ears are too big, did you know your nose is crooked, you’ve got a funny eye’. I’m my own worst critic.”

The dance instructor joined Strictly Come Dancing, the U.K. version of DWTS, in 2017. She became the head judge when Len Goodman left to focus on DWTS. She previously appeared on DWTS as a teacher. Her son Mark, 36, is a three-time Mirror Ball trophy winner and earned his third with Charli D’Amelio last year. Mark’s father, Corky Ballas, trained DWTS pros and danced with Cloris Leachman and Florence Henderson on the show. Ballas and Corky divorced in 2007. Ballas is now in a long-term relationship with Daniel Taylor.

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