ITV releases statement supporting Diversity’s Black Lives Matter performance

The performance has received over 21,000 complaints

ITV has posted a statement on social media standing behind dance troupe Diversity, following their Britain's Got Talent performance. On the September 5th show, Diversity performed a routine that directly addressed the Black Lives Matter movement and the death of George Floyd. It involved a white police officer putting his knee on Ashley Banjo whilst other dancers filmed it on mobile phones. Ofcom has confirmed that the performance has received over 21,000 complaints, though it was widely praised on social media. On Tuesday night, ITV tweeted a statement pledging their support to Diversity. "Britain's Got Talent has always been an inclusive show, which showcases diversity and supports strong storytelling in all forms and ITV stands behind the decision to broadcast Diversity's performance on BGT," the statement read. "Ashley [Banjo] and the group are a great example of the talent, creativity and diversity of modern Britain and their performance was an authentic, heartfelt response to many of the issues and events which have affected society in 2020." https://twitter.com/ITV/status/1305915275578167296 Ashley Banjo was filling in as a guest judge for Simon Cowell, who was suffering from a back injury. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzFNKFitHjw At the weekend, Banjo posted an Instagram video adressing the reaction to Britain's Got Talent. https://www.instagram.com/p/CFFRW0QJs1d/ "Honestly, it is overwhelming, the positive reaction to what we did, hundreds of thousands of messages, comments, DMs and interactions in the street." "I know a lot of the press reports have been about the complaints and the negativity, which there has been a lot – there’s has been what, 15, 16,000 complaints, a lot of negativity thrown back at the performance." "Trust me, I am right in the centre of it and the negativity is is the minority." "The positive response has been huge, so thank you so much to everyone who has supported, shown love and stood by what we did."