Dancing On Ice’s Matt Evers has leapt to the defence of his partner Gemma Collins, after trolls said vicious things about her on Twitter.
On Sunday (6 January), viewers saw reality star Gemma skate live for the first time as the new series kicked off.
While some applauded her performance, others weren’t so complimentary.
Read more: Gemma Collins fires back at Jason Gardiner following Dancing On Ice mauling
And while Gemma isn’t usually shy of defending herself, this time she didn’t have to as an angry Matt put the Twitter trolls in their place.
After the official Dancing On Ice feed shared a clip of Gemma’s performance with its 259,000 followers, one responded with the comment: “Giant Haystacks in Drag.”
While many fans of the show rushed to defend Gemma, Matt himself felt the need to speak up, replying: “Sue… I might be gay and Gemma a woman but because we wear makeup on television and wear gold sequins does NOT warrant a comment like this. I suggest you don’t go there.”
Giant Haystacks in Drag.. dancing on ice
— Sue Holliman (@HollimanSue) January 6, 2019
Sue… I might be gay and Gemma a woman but because we wear makeup on television and wear gold sequins does NOT warrant a comment like this. I suggest you don’t go there. https://t.co/g08HVG7pkW
— Matt Evers (@TheMattEvers) January 7, 2019
Read more: Dancing On Ice fave hints at red-hot romance between skating stars
As more people got involved in the thread, Matt was again forced to defend his co-star when someone wrote: “Matt, take no notice. @missgemcollins was brave and hilarious and good on her for sticking at it.”
In response, someone typed: “Hold on….firefighters are brave. People living with life changing/limiting illnesses are brave. The list is endless. She is skating & getting paid for it.”
But Matt wasn’t having any of it, responding: “Karen… have you skated in front of 7 million viewers before with two months training? Firefighters get paid too.”
Karen… have you skated in front of 7 million viewers before with two months training? Firefighters get paid too.
— Matt Evers (@TheMattEvers) January 8, 2019
And therein lies a lesson to DOI fans, don’t mess with Matt!
Matt has been robustly supporting former TOWIE star Gemma, after many TV viewers expected her to fail after she walked out of I’m A Celebrity after three days.
Even Dancing On Ice’s very own presenter Phil Schofield doubted she’d stick at it.
But Matt believes Gemma is here to stay, recently posting an inspirational message about Gemma on his Instagram feed just before the first live show.
Alongside a candid snap of the pair behind the scenes, Matt wrote: “Words cannot explain how proud I am of this human being.
“I hope tomorrow evening you will see how people and perceptions can change. Through hard work, pain, perseverance and struggles we find ourselves.
“There’s no point in living our lives if we don’t want to or choose to grow. @gemmacollins1 has worked so hard over the past 3 months and in my eyes has changed.”
Just last week, the 42-year-old professional skater lashed out at Love Island’s Megan Barton Hanson for calling the show’s costumes “unmanly”.
In response to Megan – whose boyfriend Wes Nelson is starring on the show – Matt said: “Hmmmm Megan…. don’t think picking girls up for a living and wearing Lycra…. is unmanly or cringey.
“This show is my career and my passion. It’s unfair to criticise this show and the work we are all putting in. There’s nothing unmanly about [Dancing On Ice].”
Matt and Gemma scored 16 out of 40 with their performance to Beyoncé’s Crazy In Love, receiving 4.5 from all judges apart from Jason Gardiner who gave her a 2.5.
Waspish Jason told Gemma: “You talk a big talk but you don’t back it up. It was like a French & Saunders parody. Uncomfortable to watch.”
However Matt praised Gemma, telling the judges: “She gets hate and trolls online and she’s never exercised but she absolutely smashed it. She committed to it.”
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