Johannes Radebe spoke on ITV’s Lorraine about his most recent encounter with royalty, his role in Kinky Boots, and his most recent update on Jojo: Finally Home. The Strictly star, known for his sass and humour on the dancefloor, opened up to the talk show hosts about his “dark upbringing” and the struggles he faced dealing with being “mercilessly bullied” for being “gay and different”.
In order to promote the musical Kinky boots tour in the UK and Ireland in 2025, the South African ballroom dancer spoke with Ranvir Singh. Radebe even told his mother how he has “never been this happy” and claimed that it was “needed” in his life and that he is now “living his best life.” When met with Ranvir’s “seriously”? Johannes responded: “I can’t tell you]just how happy]”.
The star chalked his current joy as potentially down to the musical’s incorporation of all four aspects of performance: “singing, dancing, acting and spoken dialect”. Ranveer, the host of the show, and Johannes, the host, gush over the costumes, saying, “Let’s not even start talking about the glamour of it all”!
“I’ve always said Kinky boots is not about cross-dressing or making boots. What’s beautiful is the close relationships between grown men and their fathers – their regrets, the disappointments, the expectations. I think what’s beautiful about it is the universal appeal. The musical covers so many topics.
Johannes’ character has allegedly been made to “re-energize the brand,” with the dancer putting in two years of singing instruction “to do it justice” and increase his confidence. Before moving on to Radebe’s best-selling memoir, which explores the difficulties he faced being bullied as a gay child in South Africa, Ranvir repeated Johannes’ claim that he was “made for the role” and that it was “destiny in many ways.”
She continued to say she was “actually surprised” to read that, during the process of writing his book, Johannes “had to release some demons”. She admitted: “You’re the last person I thought to have any demons”.
“So much has happened in my life that could have broke me”, stated Johannes, “but it didn’t”. Joehannes claimed that he had always believed that his story “should never be told” and that it longed to be kept secret until his agent insisted that “people need to hear this.” Johannes had to undergo therapy in order to write the memoir. He acknowledged to the audience that it was wonderful to know that his story is changing people’s lives but also that he is aware that it isn’t just about him.
Now being made into a film, Jojo: Finally Home is “signed, sealed and will be delivered” joked Johannes, who is currently working with producers and writers for the story based on his life. We can anticipate that Strictly fans will enjoy the movie because it received 4.45 stars on Goodreads from over 1000 readers. One review read: “He never comes across, to me, as a woe is me character. Another user wrote, “I think I could have listened to this audio in one sitting but I wanted to savour it,” adding that it simply felt like he was speaking exclusively to me.
A fan on the book review website remarked, “We need a second book to document the series of strictly where Johannes finally wins that much-deserved glitter ball trophy.” Camilla, the Queen’s daughter, has admitted to loving the show and even taking lessons from the man himself. She is Strictly Wold’s most well-known fan.
After being forced to work in South Africa after being a slave, having a penchant for barbies and wearing feminine clothing in school, and having a successful family. As we have seen on Strictly Floor and now on stage, Jojo is accepted for who he is at home. On being asked how he was going to cast ‘ Jojo’, Johannes said: “There are so many Jojos running around the townships]in South Africa]. It won’t be difficult at all for me to work with them and return home each time.
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply