Amanda Holden breaks silence on BGT backlash as she supports Ashley Banjo

Amanda Holden praised her “amazing” Britain’s Got Talent co-star Ashley Banjo on Good Morning Britain on Mmonday, as she supported the star over recent backlash.

Ashley and his dance group performed an incredible routine on BGT earlier this month, which referenced the Black Lives Matter movement, and also referenced the death of George Floyd in America earlier this year.

Viewers were moved to tears by the performance, with the group praised for their incredible message and for using their platform.

But the moment also faced a huge amount of backlash, with thousands of complaints made to ITV and Ofcom.

Several viewers claimed they were boycotting the show after taking offence to the routine, something former judge Piers Morgan slammed on GMB on Monday.

Now, Amanda has had her say on the matter, urging people to ignore the hate and look to the huge praise it earned instead.

She supported her fellow judge, and revealed how he was feeling since the backlash – with Ashley posting a video online this weekend.

Amanda urged people to watch it, saying how “amazing” Ashley was for his reaction to the offence from some.

She said: “It is extraordinary. I think the number of negative complaints means this conversation is right and fundamental.

“What hasn’t been really highlighted is we have been inundated with overwhelming positive responses, hundreds of thousands of them.

“As the BGT family, and Diversity are very much a part of that, Ashley is doing a phenomenal job as a judge, and we stand by him and stand by that performance 100 percent.”

On how Ashley was doing, she praised his attitude and positive energy and encouraged others to have the same mindset.

She said: “I think he’s an extraordinarily intelligent man, and if you haven’t seen it already he posted a video last night on his Instagram, which very succinctly tells you how he feels about the entire thing.

“He sends out positive vibes to the haters and the lovers of the piece that they did, and it just shows what an amazing human being he is.

“I think he is saddened by the negativity, but it backs up the fact we need to be talking about it, and we all need to support it and talk about the positivity.”

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.