Britain’s Got Talent ‘s newest judge Ashley Banjo has taken to Instagram to say he would perform the Black Lives Matter routine a “100 times over” as Ofcom stands with Diversity.
The controversial dance, which aired on September 5, racked up an astounding 24,500 complaints which were brought to the Watchdog after the performance showcased a uniformed officer kneeling on Ashley banjo’s neck.
Despite sparking public outrage, Ashley stood by his decision to perform that particular routine which glazed over some of the tragedies that the year 2020 has seen so far.
After Ofcom announced that they were backing Diversity, Ashley continued to remain defiant as he told his legion of followers he would do the same routine a “100 times over”.
Ashley Banjo would do his BLM routine “100 times over” as Ofcom stand with him in support (Image: Internet Unknown)
Portraying his glee and no no doubt relief, Ashley shared a picture of Ofcom’s statement and final verdict on the matter.
He captioned the image: “Creativity is always a leap of faith.
“All I did what was what felt right and I’d do it 100 times over… Sending love to everyone that stood by us #Diversity.”
It comes as the number of complaints over the Black Lives Matter dance, which referenced the death of George Floyd in the US and saw Diversity take the knee, rose to 24,500 today.
Ashley took to social media to share his verdict and his glee as he remained defiant
Through the art of Dance, diversity told a story which reenacted the death of US born George Floyd which later lead to public scrutiny.
The statement read: “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.
“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.
Ashley Banjo was also supported by ITV yesterday who claimed they were standing by the short-term judge (Image: ashleybanjo/Instagram)
“There was no explicit reference to any particular political organisation – but rather a message that the lives of black people matter.”
Yesterday, ITV also decided to firmly support the stand-in judge, revealing to the publication: “Britain’s Got Talent has always been an inclusive show, which showcases diversity and supports strong storytelling in all forms.
“ITV stands behind the decision to broadcast Diversity’s performance on BGT.
“Ashley and the group are a great example of the talent, creativity and diversity of modern Britain and their performance was an authentic, heartfelt response to many of the issues and events which have affected society in 2020.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
