Alesha Dixon receives mixed reaction after wearing BLM jewellery on Britain’s Got Talent.
Britains Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon showed her support for Black Lives Matter and fellow judge Ashley Banjo on Saturday, by wearing a BLM necklace.
It comes after Ashley Banjo’s dance group (Diversity) received over 24,000 Ofcom complaints, following a dance routine that addressed police brutality, taking the knee and the death of George Floyd. During the performance, a white police officer knelt on Ashley Banjo’s neck, re-enacting the events that took place in Minneapolis, USA on 25th May this year.
Alesha recently opened up about Diversity’s performance, revealing she was in “floods of tears” at the emotional routine. Adding that she “had this overwhelming feeling of, ‘wow, I can’t believe I am watching this on BGT’. It felt really important.”
People have taken to social media to express their views on the subject, with one person tweeting: “It’s one thing for Ashley Banjo, who I was once a fan of, and Alesha Dixon, who I also thought was a super person, to have their views. But their arrogance to the public who complained about using a TV show for a BLM political broadcast, is quite another. I quit the fan club.”
Another Tweet said:
Alesha dixon, also promoting blm, on a family show , politics should not be used on a family talent show. All lives matter not just black, by ramming this down our throats at every opportunity is making ordinary people even more anti-black. pic.twitter.com/1iFVGtZG9w
— carl nolan (@carln_nolan) September 20, 2020
Reacting to the complaints, Dixon wrote: “kiss my black a**” on Instagram. Banjo made a statement, saying: “My truth, my platform, my art. I’ve always tried to create, not only to entertain but also to inspire … that will never change.”
ITV responded to criticism of the performance by taking out full-page adverts in all national newspapers on Saturday, costing £260,000. The Diversity leader said the group have “never been prouder”.
The advert features a photo from Diversity’s performance, which the broadcaster has captioned: “We are changed by what we see. Just as we are changed when we are seen.”
Towards the bottom of the image, a message reads: “ITV stand with Diversity.”
There has been an overwhelming show of support towards Alesha Dixon and Diversity’s performance, with one Tweet saying: “Go Alesha, I’m loving your necklace tonight. Let’s hope we see a lot more support in the mainstream media. #actionsnotwords #BLM.”
Supporters have described the necklace as a “power move”.
https://twitter.com/faithbxx/status/1307396802765783043?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1307396802765783043%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmetro.co.uk%2F2020%2F09%2F19%2Fbritains-got-talent-alesha-dixon-black-lives-matter-blm-jewellery-supports-diversity-13296989%2F
Ashley Banjo said the positive reaction was overwhelming and thanked people who have “supported, shown love, and stood by what we did”. Diversity’s performance can be watched below:
