Ekin-Su Culculoglu has defended her risque 'Dancing on Ice' costume.
Ekin-Su Culculoglu has defended her risque 'Dancing on Ice' outfit
The 'Love Island' winner sparked complaints with her daring outfit when she took to the ice for the first time on the ITV show but is determined to empower women by staying sexy.
Ekin-Su told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: "I feel like every woman should feel sexy. It doesn't matter who you are, what your age is or how you look.
"It's not about cleavage, legs or bums, it's about the knowledge you have, the way you carry yourself, the way you speak to people... it's knowing who you are and embracing it. That is sexy."
Ekin-Su - who won 'Love Island' last summer with her partner Davide Sanclimenti - was trolled on social media for her raunchy costume and admits that she found the criticism difficult to take.
The 28-year-old star said: "I was very upset. Instead of people saying, 'Look at her, look at her confidence', I had negative feedback.
"I'm not going to lie, I was crying a lot. I went home and cried in Davide's arms."
She added: "On 'Love Island', people were criticising me but we had no phones so I had no idea what was happening.
"Now it's in my face. Someone sends me a DM, someone sends me a tweet and I see it. It's everywhere and it's a lot to take."
Ekin-Su, who is partnered with professional Brendyn Hatfield on the ice, will not let the trolls get her down.
She said: "I'm not going to just back off... I'm going to be confident again. I'm going to fight.
"I'm here, I'm ready, I'm going to shine - and I'm going to be me again."