Bethany Antonia has admitted she felt “devastated” to discover that a t-shirt she’d worn during Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals emblazoned with a message in support of the trans community had been censored for the show’s eventual broadcast.
Last month, the House Of The Dragon star was seen during Strictly training wearing a white top sporting the message “protect the dolls”, which has become a mantra of solidarity and support for transgender women in recent years.
When this footage was aired on the BBC, these words had been blurred out, which the broadcaster later clarified was “standard practice” when it came to “any overt branding or slogans that may be present, regardless of the wording or statement in question” on “any entertainment show”.
Asked about this during an interview with Gaydio conducted before her elimination from the long-running BBC dance show, Bethany admitted: “Personally, I felt devastated.
“To me, support for the trans community is not something that’s up for discussion, or not something that is up for editing, or not something to be hidden.”
Bethany then said there was a “misunderstand’, as she hadn’t realised the Protect The Dolls t-shirts were closely associated with a charity (specifically the North American suicide prevention helpline Trans Lifeline), something the BBC “considers to be a no-go”.
Bethany continued: “To me, it felt like that wasn’t a slogan that deserved to be edited, and I was just so frustrated on behalf of the whole trans community, and on [behalf of] my friends and my family, who felt that that being taken away as in any way my beliefs.
“That was my biggest fear, was that people would think I was in support of that decision.”
She added: “There’s a lot of pressure to speak on the things when they happen, and it just felt so heartbreaking, the whole thing.
“And I’m very much looking forward to being able to wear those t-shirts out and proud, when I’m not on a show that’s with the BBC.”
When asked if she had “any sort of level of understanding or sympathy” for those who made the decision, Bethany then responded: “There’s never been a more frustrating time to be a queer person working with a company that has these beliefs, if I’m very honest.
“To me, the t-shirt is no different to wearing the poppy, and I think I’m going to have to spend a lot of time to get my head around that decision.”
She concluded: “There’s only so much you can do from the inside when you’re in this environment, but yeah, I felt no sympathy or understanding, if I’m honest.”
HuffPost UK has contacted the BBC for comment.
Bethany previously maintained that her “main takeaway” from the controversy had been a feeling of being “so thrilled to see so much support for the trans community online”.
“It started a conversation, and I got to see so many people coming out to support my trans brothers and sisters, and that’s all that matters,” she enthused.
The Birmingham-born actor added: “I think the show just made the call based on the information that they had, and what they would have done with any t-shirt branding that wasn’t allowed to go out.”
Despite falling in the top half of the leaderboard during Saturday night’s Strictly live show, Bethany and her professional partner Nancy Xu wound up back in the dance-off for the third time during Sunday’s results show.
For the first time this series, the judges’ decision about who to save was not unanimous, but in the end, it was Love Island winner Cach Mercer who was saved over Bethany.
