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<\/p>\nStrictly Come Dancing star Johannes Radebe has revealed he was stopped by police during the show’s UK tour for ‘looking suspicious’.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The South-African dancer, 36, recalled being approached by officers outside a venue and said being treated like a criminal felt like a ‘slap in the face’.<\/p>\n
In an extract of his autobiography JOJO Finally Home obtained by The Mirror\u00a0Johannes wrote:\u00a0‘A police van pulled up into the parking lot where I was sitting’.<\/p>\n
‘When they came over I showed my ID. “Is there something wrong?” I asked one of them. “No, you look suspicious and like someone we are looking for”‘.<\/p>\n
‘Maybe they were doing their job but the fact I’d just been on stage with thousands of people shouting my name and now I was being approached by police who thought I could be a criminal felt like a slap in the face.’<\/p>\n
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Candid:\u00a0Strictly Come Dancing star Johannes Radebe, 36, has revealed he was stopped by police during the show’s UK tour for ‘looking suspicious’<\/p>\n
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Showman:\u00a0The South-African dancer recalled being approached by officers outside a venue and said the being treated like a criminal felt like a ‘slap in the face’ (pictured on the BBC show)<\/p>\n
It comes after the star\u00a0broke down in tears as he spoke about his mother\u00a0Jacobeth on Loose Women on Thursday, who he said is ‘alone.’\u00a0<\/p>\n
Johannes cried as he delved into the backstory of his autobiography which covers the experiences and challenges he faced as he grew up in Zamdela, South Africa with a passion for dance.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on his childhood, the Latin champion said: ‘It’s so far from the life that I am living now, I can look after my family, my mother is comfortable.<\/p>\n
‘I was bullied for being a bit happy and flamboyant. Dance was my refuge. I hated school but I am so grateful for my teacher for calling people out.<\/p>\n
Of his sexuality, he said: ‘It was frowned upon, even by some of my family members, but now I am in a fortunate position where it is accepted.<\/p>\n
‘As I was writing the book I sat down and she had been interviewed and I asked her questions like, “Why did you make that decision? Why did you stay that long in a marriage that didn’t serve you?”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Johannes choked up as he said: ‘It’s only recently where I have made peace with what has happened with the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘Because I had an opportunity to hear my mum’s side of the story.’<\/p>\n
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Emotional: It comes after the star broke down in tears as he spoke about his mother Jacobeth on Loose Women on Thursday, who he said is ‘alone.<\/p>\n
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Family: The professional dancer appeared on the show to talk about his new book Jojo: Finally Home and his close relationship with his mother\u00a0<\/p>\n
Panellist Katie Piper asked: ‘Was it hard to talk to your mum about it, about that?’<\/p>\n
Getting emotional Johannes replied: ‘It was. It was. And I dedicated the book to my mother because I want to applaud her love.<\/p>\n
‘Great things have happened in my life but my family is never there to enjoy it with me, my mother is alone and that is the reality, but I am so happy and I am proud of her.’<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Johannes spoke about\u00a0his ‘horrid’ time at school in South Africa where he endured homophobic physical and verbal abuse.<\/p>\n
The dancer\u00a0has been open about his sexuality during his time on the hit BBC competition and was chosen for Strictly’s first same-sex couple alongside baker John Whaite in 2021.<\/p>\n
But growing up in the township of Zamdela, near Johannesburg, Johannes said he had to ‘duck and dive’ from the bullies who would call him a ‘sissy boy’ and ‘punch’ him ‘many times’.<\/p>\n
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Heartbreaking: Johannes endured homophobic physical and verbal abuse while he was growing up\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Tearing up:\u00a0‘It was frowned upon, even by some of my family members, but now I am in a fortunate position where it is accepted’, Johannes said<\/p>\n
Speaking to The Guardian about his latest solo venture, a tour called Freedom Unleashed, Johannes explained that despite the bad times he was still ‘covered with love’ from his mother.<\/p>\n
He said: ‘I had to duck and dive. School was horrid. They [the bullies] used to say to me, “Oh, sissy boy!”‘<\/p>\n
The dancer added that if he got far away enough, he would hit them back with a sassy reply: ‘But if I was close by I would have been punched, which I was many times.’<\/p>\n
Johannes also added that he still has friends living in his native South Africa who still endure homophobic abuse and that he is happy to be living in the UK.<\/p>\n
‘You guys have a long way to go still, but people make space for one another to coexist,’ he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n