Britain's Got Talent star Jordan Banjo upset by "horrible stuff" as Ofcom complaints top 7,500
The furore over Diversity's powerful routine on BGT has escalated.
Diversity star Jordan Banjo had to stop a broadcast on KISS FM on Wednesday when he became upset talking about the trolling he's received after the routine his act performed on Britain's Got Talent, which has been the subject of 7,581 complaints to Ofcom.
Banjo was speaking about the abuse the Diversity members have received since their performance, which included a Black Lives Matter-inspired sequence, on Britain's Got Talent on Saturday, which some have complained was too politicised and unacceptable on a family entertainment show.
According to The Mirror, Banjo said: "Of course you get some critiques, but normally it's focused on the dance. ut this one was different, it was really important, it was special to us. We are all about positivity and love and we got so much positivity and love back from this one.
"But we also got bombarded with messages and articles of horrible stuff about us, about our families, about how even now Diversity [is] not diverse enough because there's only five white people in it."
Banjo began to get emotional on the KISS FM breakfast show he co-hosts with Diversity dancer Perri Kiely: "I can't speak for anyone else, it's sad, it's sad, genuinely. I feel really anxious and worried saying something like black lives matter when that's all we want man, love and positivity.
"No one is saying only black lives matter, as a son and as a dad, I look at Pel [Perri] and I just... it's all positivity and love, let's keep it moving."
Banjo cut short the discussion when his emotions got the better of him.
Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom confirmed that it had received 7,581 complaints about Saturday night's Britain's Got Talent semi-final.
Jordan is the younger brother of Ashley Banjo, who is acting as temporary judge on Britain's Got Talent while Simon Cowell recovers from his back surgery.
Ashley hit back at their trolls on Tuesday when he told the abusers that "change is coming... Get used to it".
Diversity's performance on Saturday featured a sequence when one of the group pinned another down with a knee on his neck, mimicking the incident in which a US policeman killed George Floyd, sparking the Black Lives Matter movement.
While Ofcom was deciding whether the routine infringed broadcasting rules, Britain's Got Talent bosses stood behind Diversity.
A spokesperson for ITV told The Mirror: "“Diversity’s performance offered their take on the extraordinary events of 2020 opening up important topics of conversation. The show was complied for a family audience."
BGT judge David Walliams had also shown support for Diversity, retweeting and liking Ashley's social media posts.
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