Same-sex couple win Denmark’s version of Strictly Come Dancing and, surprise surprise, the world didn’t end
Silas Holst and Jakob Fauerby (Instagram)
A same-sex couple has won Denmark’s version of Strictly Come Dancing, and to the surprise of LGBT+ people everywhere, the world didn’t go up in flames.
Gay actor Jakob Fauerby won the contest with his professional dance partner Silas Holst. They have spent weeks wowing audiences and judges alike on the hit show, which is called Vild med Dans.
Writing on Instagram, Fauerby said: “We’ve won!”
“It’s totally crazy and absolutely amazing. Thank you so much to all of you for your wonderful messages and great support over the last 12 weeks.
“I am so proud that my daughter, her big brother and all other little boys and girls can go out into the world and love them the way they want and dance with whoever they want.”
He also praised his dance partner, calling him “the bravest man.”
“Thank you for getting me out into the deepest water. It was worth it. Now we have to party!”
After they danced in the final, judge Marianne Eilhilt said: “I am so proud to live in a country where two men can make a final,” Politiken reports.
Both dancers shared their excited reactions to winning Denmark’s version of Strictly Come Dancing.
Meanwhile, Holst posted a collage of the pair dancing on the show together on Instagram and wrote: “I am proud! Proud our hard work was rewarded, but most important proud to share land with all of you who have dared to open your mind and look at something new with open eyes.
“That you saw through both sex and sexuality and only saw two people dancing. It fills my heart with love and my eyes with tears!”
It’s totally crazy and absolutely amazing. Thank you so much to all of you for your wonderful messages and great support over the last 12 weeks.
Speaking to BT recently about his stint on the show, Fauerby said he saw it as a duty to show that men can “be natural together” without making it a statement.
“It’s a whole new experience. It is quite overwhelming, so many write to me on social media with their own stories. I feel pretty privileged,” he continued.
He also praised his dance partner Holst, noting: “He makes sure you look good.”
Both dancers were shocked by their success on the show.
He also recently told LGBTQ Nation that he could never have anticipated their success on the show in his “wildest dreams.”
“I had already thought that if they called me, I would ask if it was possible to dance with a man,” Fauerby said.
“So, when they called and I asked, they said it was probably something they could talk about.”
The pair’s victory comes as an extra special surprise as they were subjected to anti-LGBT+ abuse during their stint on the show.
They faced criticism from some members of the public who said that two men dancing together is “unnatural.” Others have reportedly questioned who is “the man” and who is “the woman” in their pairing.
“We’re just one couple out of 160 in 16 years,” he said. “So for me, if a young boy, boy, girl, or trans person has the opportunity to see that positive representation as part of a TV show, that is empowering in itself,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the UK, almost 200 people complained when Strictly Come Dancing made history with a beautiful same-sex dance routine.
