Britain's Got Talent's Ashley Banjo hits back at Diversity trolls as Ofcom complaints near 3,000
The BGT judge has countered the criticism after the BLM-inspired dance routine.
Ashley Banjo has hit back at mounting complaints received by Ofcom about the Black Lives Matter-inspired dance routine by his group Diversity on Britain's Got Talent on Saturday night, saying "Change is inevitable... Get used to it."
At the time of writing, Ofcom had received 2,966 complaints, according to The Mirror.
"We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate," an Ofcom spokesperson told the BBC on Monday.
Banjo, who is a temporary judge on Britain's Got Talent in Simon Cowell's absence, has responded to the trolling he's received since Diversity's powerful routine with an Instagram post that highlights a negative post featuring himself and other prominent black British celebrities.
"For the people sending this:
1. You do not represent or speak for the Great British public.
2. Silence was never and will never be an option.
3. Change is inevitable... Get used to it
Earlier on Monday, Banjo responded to the growing criticism with an initial post on Instagram.
"I’m so grateful and overwhelmed by all of the love and support but also by the amount of conversation this performance has thrown up 2020 has been such a historical year. One day we will look back and realise it was the start of real change...
Sending out nothing but love and positivity to everyone reading this post "
The Mirror reported that Banjo has received thousands of hateful messages about Diversity's performance, but Britain's Got Talent and one of his fellow judges were standing behind him
A spokesperson for Britain's Got Talent said: "Diversity’s performance offered their take on the extraordinary events of 2020 opening up important topics of conversation. The show was compiled for a family audience.”
Fellow judge David Walliams retweeted Banjo's Instagram post on Monday.
Watch the routine which Diversity performed, featuring a re-enactment of the infamous George Floyd arrest, on Saturday's first live semi-final of Britain's Got Talent 2020.
If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV guide.
