Ashley Banjo returns to Britain’s Got Talent tonight, days after Ofcom waived the complaints filed following Diversity’s powerful Black Lives Matter performance.
The dance, which saw Ashley lying on the floor as a police officer knelt on his neck, has since become the second most complained about TV moment, racking up more than 24,500 complaints.
However, Ofcom confirmed that they would not be launching an official investigation into the performance, which was part of the first BGT semi-final two weeks ago.
Ashley, who is stepping in for Simon Cowell while he recuperates following a back injury, will return to the judging panel of the ITV variety show tonight.
Ashley saluted the cameras as he walked out onto the stage ahead of tonight’s episode (Image: ITV)
Teaser pictures released ahead of tonight’s episode show the dancer, who won the show back in 2009, smiling and saluting as he walks onto the stage.
Beaming from ear-to-ear, Ashley, 31, can be seen wearing a t-shirt which features an image of a black child.
The dancer paired his t-shirt with a swanky suit, with a pair of chunky white trainers and a silver necklace.
The stand-in judge is seen smiling from ear-to-ear while wearing a t-shirt featuring an image of a black child
Since the performance, Ashley has made light about the number of complaints, recently sharing a snap alongside his daughter, joking: “Just me and Rosie patiently watching as we head for the No1 spot.”
He also took to social media to share a photograph with both of his children as he revealed that he has “one brown” and “one white” child.
The heartfelt performance referenced the killing of black man George Floyd in the United States, who lost his life at the hands of a police officer.
Diversity’s performance is almost the most complained about TV moment (Image: ITV)
In a statement, broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said: “We concluded that the programme did not raise issues which warranted investigation under our broadcasting rules.
“We carefully considered a large number of complaints about this artistic routine, an area where freedom of expression is particularly important.”
They added: “Diversity’s performance referred to challenging and potentially controversial subjects, and in our view, its central message was a call for social cohesion and unity.
“Any depictions of violence by the performers were highly stylised and symbolic of recent global events.”
The ruling went on: “There was no explicit reference to any particular political organisation – but rather a message that the lives of black people matter.”
Meanwhile, ITV threw support behind the routine too, releasing an image from the performance with “ITV stand with Diversity” at the bottom.
Britain’s Got Talent returns to ITV tonight at 8pm
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
