Amanda Holden has claimed she didn’t realise her Britain’s Got Talent fellow judge Alesha Dixon wore a Black Lives Matter necklace to support dance group Diversity.
Alesha wore three gold necklaces, with chunky ‘B’, ‘L’ and ‘M’ pendants hanging off them on last week’s show in a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
It came after Ofcom decided against inverstigating the 24,000 complaints filed against Diversity’s powerful Black Lives Matter performance on the first BGT semi-final on September 5.
Now Alesha’s co-star has said she didn’t realise the gold necklace spelled out ‘BLM’ but admitted she admired it.
Amanda, 49, blamed “her eyesight” for not spotting the what was written on the necklace.
(Image: ITV)
The talent show judge told the Huffington Post: “I didn’t even realise she was wearing it! I was sat right next to her and was like ‘Oh, that’s lovely! And she went ‘Look at it babe’ and I went ‘Oh, yes’. It took me ages… it’s my eyes you see – I’m sat a couple of metres away.”
Amanda insisted Adele is capable of fighting her own battles, adding she “doesn’t intend on backing down about such an important social issue”.
She said: “Alesha believe me is tough and can fight her own corner. She doesn’t need me but she’s got me right there if she needs me… I’ve got a mouthguard and a hot towel ready.”
(Image: Alesha Dixon/Instagram)
And Amanda suggested people should “take a look back at the year we have all endured” to fully grasp the message of Diversity’s powerful dance which depicted George Floyd’s death.
She said: “I would say that we mustn’t forget that it was a performance that reflected the entire year, not just the tragedy in America of George Floyd. It was celebrating the NHS and our sense of community, which is ironic after we received those complaints.”
The stunning star said the negative attention ‘annoyed’ her as it took away from the overall positive message instilled in the performance.
(Image: ITV)
Diversity members were subject to vile racist abuse online over the performance.
After the backlash over the performance, ITV released a statement in support of Diversity and defended its decision to air the routine.
Amanda insisted she “felt honoured” to witness the dance and that ITV did a fantastic job of standing by it.
She also praised it, saying it helped people see that TV “isn’t just there to comfort and entertain” and is also a vital tool to educate audiences.
Ofcom announced it will not be investigating the Diversity performance.
In a statement the watchdog explained: “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, and there was no explicit reference to any particular political organisation – but rather a message that the lives of black people matter.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
