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BGT: Ashley Banjo ‘never prouder’ as ITV offers solidarity over Diversity performance

ITV placed supportive ads in newspapers

Ashley Banjo has expressed his joy after ITV addressed viewers over his recent controversial BGT performance.

The Diversity star, 31, told fans both he and the rest of his dance group were bursting with pride following the move by the broadcaster.

ITV placed ads in national newspapers today (Saturday, September 19) to spell out their backing for Diversity.

The ad depicted Ashley in a moment from the Black Lives Matter-inspired routine as he took a knee.

ashley banjo britain's got talent
Ashley Banjo: ‘This is what change looks like’ (Credit: ITV)

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It also contained a message of solidarity for the group, declaring: “ITV stands by Diversity.”

Ashley and the rest of the group are proud of the publication of the striking imagery and words.

Diversity’s routine came in for thousands of complaints (Credit: BGT YouTube)

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Ashley Banjo and Diversity thank their supporters

Sharing an image of the ad across social media, Ashley insisted: “This is what change looks like.

“ITV stand with Diversity and we’ve never been prouder.

“This is in all the national papers today.

“Thank you again to everyone that has supported us.”

In response, stars such as fellow Diversity fave Perri Kiely, Alesha Dixon and Aston Merrygold give the post their backing.

Ofcom dismisses complaints

The performance took place earlier this month during the first Britain’s Got Talent semi-final.

It pulled in over 24,000 complaints to Ofcom. The regulator ruled earlier this week that the dance did not require further investigation.

Ofcom said in a statement: “Complainants outlined a range of concerns about Diversity’s performance, including that the themes of violence and racism were inappropriate for family viewing, that it expressed support for the political organisation Black Lives Matter and that it was racist towards White people.

“Our assessment is that this programme did not raise any issues which warranted investigation.”

Ashley reacted accordingly: “Creativity is always a leap of faith.

“All I did was what felt right and I’d do it 100 times over… Sending love to everyone that stood by us.”

Poster

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Robert Leigh
Freelance writer