Strictly's Katya and Wynne controversy faces criticism from Women's Aid
The organisation has criticised the incident, which Katya Jones and Wynne Evans have called a "stupid joke".
Women's Aid, the national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children, has added criticism to the controversy surrounding Wynne Evans and Katya Jones's "joke" during the most recent episode of Strictly Come Dancing, saying "inappropriate behaviour towards women is no laughing matter".
The controversy began during the show on Saturday 12th October, when professional dancer Jones appeared to forcibly remove her celebrity partner Evans's hand from her waist. She was then seen to later reject his offer of a high-five.
The pair addressed the controversy in a video posted to social media, in which Jones said: "We just wanted to say we were just messing around in the Clauditorium on Saturday night, and just want to say sorry for a silly joke."
Evans added: "Yeah, sorry."
Jones then also addressed the matter on companion show It Takes Two, saying: "I can’t bear sitting here watching this man being portrayed as someone he’s not.
"And, in fact, it couldn’t be further away from the truth, so I have to make this absolutely clear, that this whole incident with the hand and the hand and the high-five on Saturday night was an inside joke between Wynne and I.
"Was it a silly joke? Yes. Was it a bad joke? Yes.
"However, it was a joke, and even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is total nonsense. Those that have doubts, you guys have got it wrong."
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Speaking on Monday on BBC Radio Wales, Evans said: "I'm absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day.
"It's not nice to live in that time, but basically Katya and I are really, really close, and we're really good friends, and on Saturday night we made a stupid joke.
"It was a stupid joke that went wrong, OK? We thought it was funny. It wasn't funny. It has been totally misinterpreted."
However, Women's Aid has now criticised the incident, saying in a statement that "we need a media culture where women feel safe to speak up, where sexually inappropriate conduct is not trivialised or joked about".
"Inappropriate behaviour towards women is no joke," the charity wrote on social media.
"We need to create a media culture where women feel safe to speak up. It is important to challenge so-called 'jokes' that trivialise these behaviours so we don't continue normalising toxic attitudes."
RadioTimes.com has reached out to the BBC for comment.
In response to the incident, a Strictly source said in a statement: "Wynne and Katya have confirmed that their interactions in the Clauditorium were silly jokes they had planned together, and have apologised to anyone who may have misinterpreted them.
"They addressed them on Wynne's Instagram, where their apology can be found.
"Katya would like to clarify further that she was not offended by Wynne and was not made to feel uncomfortable in the least – she has also clarified on her Instagram and they have both since been on Strictly It Takes Two.
"The welfare and production teams have checked in on the pair and there are no further actions planned."
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