With 13 winners and about 3% of UK population being black then I think you would expect about half a winner - so if there has been one black winner then it is more than would be expected. If there have been more than one competitor each year again then they have been over-represented.

I am not complaining, I am just pointing out that there is no point in claiming half the winners should be black in the name of 'equality'.

If there was a true random distribution of contestants and winners then there would be roughly three time times more Asian ones than black.

There might be higher proportions in London and a few other places but not over the whole UK. Just been down to town on an errand and walked through the main street. I don't think I saw a single black person (though I was not looking).

That's what I call racism. Defining somebody by their colour. What irony

Well, quite. Have been arguing this right through the thread. Arguably, black and Mixed Race are OVER represented.

People vote how they want to vote if that is racist so be it.
Just suppose the shoe was on the other foot, would that be racist.?

This question has been raised in previous years, and it pertains to other phone-voting shows, like X Factor, also...

So far we have it as racist, then we have it as unconscious bias where I assume we are voting for white contestant over a black one without even knowing it ?

I didn't vote at all so does that mean I just hate people altogether ?


But lets be fair Jamelia whilst she came across as likeable was not a very good dancer compared to others she was inconsistent and then you get the fanbase , if a person has a following their votes will initially be better whether they are a good dancer or not , what I see as proper voting based on ability seems to kick in later in the series


So if this post is not a joke how do you explain how they get rid of black people early, do voters co-ordinate who to vote for as you do not vote out only in ? And what scale on the Dulux Colour chart does this colour based voting kick in ?

Racism is a serious matter, but this is not racism, it is not even a vote to evict (so the charge of not liking black contestants might have more weight then). What has happened is that the first person who left was not very good, not that memorable and languishing near the bottom of the board. The second person who left was better but in the middle of the board; always dangerous in the early weeks when the more entertaining but less able attract the votes.
The irony is that nearly everyone was expecting a Naga/Anastacia dance off, therefore feature a non white and a non Brit. Hmm would that have been an indication of racism too? I think not.

Apparently according to some white people cannot be victims of racism as we are the majority in the country


And here we go now the press

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entr...=yahoo&ref=yfp

‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Accused Of ‘Racism’ After Tameka Empson Is Voted Off One Week After Melvin Odoom

Social media needs to be careful before it starts something out of nothing

I'd never heard of him either, and he wasn't a good dancer, so I didn't vote for him, I didn't vote for Anastasia either tho, and I do know of her. Didn't know Tameka either, but she was too loud a personality for my taste, just like Kellie last year. Skin, irrelevant, personality, all!


I've been guilty of changing allegiance during the show, depending who danced better on the night, regardless of skin tone. Simon annoyed me in the early stages, too much 'in my face'. But as the series progressed he won me over and I was gutted he didn't win.


I live in a county where there is a higher % of immigrants in the city, than there are white English, yes racism sadly exists, but I genuinely doubt the majority vote accordingly, I also accept there will be exceptions, from ALL sides!


Maybe in the country as a whole but in some areas we are a minority. I've personally received racism treatment from groups of Asians (who form the majority in my city)
Does that mean they weren't being racist? And I'm allowed as I'm a minority?

PS I worked hard to exclude racism from my children's lives, was so proud to hear my daughter praising a girl (amidst a group) saying, when I asked which one say 'the one with black hair, job done!

Strictly is not just a dance competition it is also about personalities. It is an entertainment show and that is why the likes of Ed Balls do well.

For me, Tameka could have done the best dance of the night and I wouldn't have voted for her because I found her annoying, over the top and attention seeking. Funny she is not. I wasn't going to vote to keep her in.

Like the majority of viewers, I don't know anything about the technical side of dance so I vote on what I have enjoyed and what's caught my attention. Tameka caught my attention for all the wrong reasons and was ruining the programme for me.

Ore however, comes across as very likeable, charming, genuine and did a terrific dance to boot.

I also like Melvin but there were other personalities and dancers I preferred and therefore voted to keep.

I was surprised Tameka went though as I would have thought she had a large fan base. Obviously not. I thought it would have been Naga or Anastasia.

No it is definitely not in my opinion.

sorry posted initially in wrong place. See Len's lens for my original reply.
Megs

Good comments, I was surprised but not upset that Tameka went, I found her very annoying , obviously so did a lot of other people. And by the looks of it not a huge fan base. She is also very annoying in EE.

One thing if we are all voting in a racist manner on SCD why are those of black/Asian origin not voting in their droves for the black/asian contestants ? or is it that it is simply an entertainment programme and people vote for those they know or are a fan of.

If a white celeb had gone out 2 weeks in a row or even 4, 5, 6 weeks in a row nothing would have been said. Why can some people not accept that people get voted out because they just weren't much good or they are not popular not because of their colour.

All the black celebs mentioned from other series that went early were not very good dancers.

Tameka is just not that popular, even with EE's fans. Now if It had been Diane Parish (her sister in EE's) I'm fairly certain that there would have been enough votes to keep her in.
I'm sure Tameka is lovely when you get to know her, but she seems determined to cultivate this annoying personality which just seems an extension to her screen character.
It's nothing at all to do with race or colour. If there's any prejudice it's against people who can't seem to help themselves grabbing the limelight at every opportunity.

So many posters seem to have misread the OP - it clearly says 'a slight element of racism'. To out and out deny that there could be the merest hint of racism is so blinkered.

Any post which begins with an explanation for why the poster voted in a certain way totally misses the point - no-one is accusing everyone who voted of being racist! How laughable! But the defensive stance is baffling.

And I think you are definitely onto something with the middling ability celebs. All the stats quoting winners and runners up are pointless - of course people will always vote for who they think is a spectacular dancer! But something does come into play with the middle / lower table dancers - where there is lethargy in general. This is where it becomes much more of a popularity contest rather than a dance contest. And of course there have been many very valid points made in this thread for reasons why certain celebs have been bottom 2 / voted out / attracted fewer voters. But latent racism is certainly not out of the question either.

The only response that the obvious trolling post needs.

So basically a question/statement by the OP that we are not supposed to dispute because it says "slight" but then if we do not argue what we think it can/is taken that the result was due to racism.

Maybe if the Op had said are some SCD voters racist then the answer would be Yes because there are racists both black and white in all walks of life. Did Tameka leave due to racism then the answer is no as you vote to save not vote to kick out. And as I have said if the vote was racially motivated surely black/Asian people would be voting for black/asian contestants

Couldn't agree more! Can't believe a thread has been started about this.

If anything Naga should have gone at the weekend, with Ed as the other person in the dance off. I'm white and I like Tameka and Melvin, it has absolutely nothing to do with colour. If that was the case why did Jake and Pixie go when they should have both been in the final! Simon Webbe got to the final and correct me if I am wrong but he is black, and he deserved to be there not be cause of his colour but because he is talented and entertaining, obviously just my opinion!

I certainly think it would be a lot better if the majority of posters had addressed the actual content of the OP rather than answering a different question altogether!

There is nothing wrong with responding exactly as you have above, which is a much more considered response than the vast majority on this thread. It acknowledges a racist element is possible - which the majority have denied.

I've watched it since it started.(Craig had blonde hair back then) Being the aunt of mixed race children I tend to be on the look out for racism and I can honestly say, I've never seen any ever.

How do you know whether they do or not? Unless some gallop poll has been carried out on the SCD viewers and voters as to who they vote for, no one can know for sure.

No one can know for sure so now like in many situations as something cannot be proven the story that Strictly is racist is out there down to a few people and as they say "mud sticks"

No it is defining the local Tory Party these days. Oddly enough they were the only party to have black councillors at one time, one was the only Tory I had any time for. Now there are none, and the Labour party are the only ones who put a black person up for election.

The largest ethnic group in the area used to be Chinese, now it is middle east asian.