When police stopped Johannes Radebe solely because he appeared’suspicious,’ he described it as a “slap in the face.”
The 36-year-old professional, who was born and bred in South Africa, joins Strictly Come Dancing in 2018.
During his tenure on the show, he’s been partnered with prominent names like Caroline Quentin, Ellie Taylor, and John Whaite, who recently claimed he ‘fell in love’ with Johannes when they competed together on the BBC series’ 2021 season.
He has been sharing experiences from his personal and professional life since the release of his biography, Jojo: Finally Home – My Story, this week.
One of them has been his experiences of being chased by law enforcement while having done nothing wrong.
Johannes described being in a car park after finishing a gig on the Strictly Live tour and being contacted by police who stated he looked like someone they were looking for.
‘A police van pulled up into the parking lot where I was sitting. Two officers got of the car. I said, “Mummy, they are walking over to me”. “What did you do wrong?” she asked. I felt stung. “Nothing”, I said,’ he recalled of the conversation he had with his mum Jacobeth at the time.
‘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”,’ he added when speaking to the Daily Mirror.
The TV personality went on to speculate that the cops were simply doing their job, but revealed that after the highs of performing in front of thousands of people, the encounter seemed like a’slap in the face’.
He added: ‘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! Regardless, I wrapped up the tour oozing positive energy!’
Johannes previously stated that he was frequently stopped by police because of his appearance.
Speaking on Steph’s Packed Lunch this week he shared: ‘I’m going to stop wearing a cap and a black leather jacket. I say that because I get stopped all the time and they go: “Oh sorry, it’s not you.” Police… I’m tall, I’m black. It’s important who you are and what you do and where you hang around.’
Strictly Come Dancing 2023 returns on Saturday September 23 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Source My Celebrity Life.