Ashley Banjo’s wife sends defiant message on BGT after 10,000 Ofcom complaints
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Ashley Banjo’s wife Francesca has issued a strong warning to trolls who have complained about her dancer husband’s Britain’s Got Talent performance.
Diversity’s controversial semi-final routine – that made reference to the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement – has received more than 10,000 Ofcom complaints since it aired on Saturday night.
The episode has now become the most complained about TV moment of the decade after Roxanne Pallett falsely accusing Ryan Thomas of punching her in the CelebrityBig Brother house.
(Image: Instagram)
(Image: ITV)
Francesca, who is also a dancer, has since taken Instagram to defend the powerful routine and said she couldn’t be any prouder of her husband for shining light on such important issues.
After Ashley told how he’d been inundated with hateful messages, Francesca posted on her own social media: “On Saturday @ashleybanjogram and @diversity_official performed this routine on @bgt, 11 years after winning the show. To call this a ‘dance routine’ is an understatement to say the least.
“This piece was a take on the unprecedented events of 2020, from Covid 19 to BLM, from clapping for carers as a nation to coming together in our own families and finding the light in the darkest of times.
(Image: Instagram)
“Some may find this uncomfortable, may feel it inappropriate, but shying away from issues is not going to bring about the change that is so long overdue,” said Francesca
“Watching this I could not be prouder of my husband,” she added.
Referencing their two children she continued: “Rose and Micah will watch this and when they are old enough to understand they will be proud that their Dad created something so poignant and used his voice to stand up for what is right.
“We are one race, the human race,” she finished.
(Image: ITV)
(Image: ITV)
It comes after Ofcom reported the performance has received 10,267 complaints and they are deciding whether to investigate the entertainment show.
Choreographer Ashley revealed he was saddened to have personally received hateful message trolls in the days following his debut as a BGT judge.
Some viewers complained that Diversity’s dance routine, which featured a retelling of some of the most important news events of the year, was too politicised.
Ashley said the haters did not speak for the British public and he was glad to have opened up the conversation.
He tweeted: “So much to say… But I’ll Just let the performance talk. Thousands of messages of Love and support – Thank you.
“For the thousands of messages of hate and ignorance – Thank you. You highlight exactly what needs to change. Sending nothing but love to you all.”
(Image: ITV)
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His brother Jordan also became very emotional as he discussed the shocking reaction to the performance.
Appearing on the KISS FM Radio show on Wednesday, Jordan chocked up as he told listeners; “It’s something close to our hearts. We’ve never ever had a response like this.”
He went on: “Of course you get some critiques but normally it’s focused on the dance.
(Image: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)
“But 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 not diverse enough because there’s only five white people in it.”
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