In 2020, Ashley Banjo made his return to the Britain’s Got Talent stage to perform with his Diversity dance troupe. The group rose to victory when they won the third series against Susan Boyle in 2009. However, Diversity sparked a huge backlash with ITV viewers when they performed their Black Lives Matter-inspired routine on the show.
Ashley, his brother Jordan Banjo, and other members of Diversity received death threats as a result of their performance.
Their routine touched upon the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the death of George Floyd.
It was later reported that more than TV watchdog Ofcom received more than 22,000 complaints from viewers.
However, in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk and other press, head judge and BGT producer Simon Cowell responded to the backlash.
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The music mogul went on to add he is not afraid of viewers being outspoken about their opinions,
“I don’t know why anyone would complain about that,” Simon said as he addressed the Ofcom complaints made against Diversity.
“And secondly, there are 65 million people in this country and how many complaints were there?”
“A few hundred, that’s what always makes me laugh, it’s like hundreds of complaints, but millions are watching so most people didn’t complain.”
In the same series, Amanda received 235 complaints about one of her glitzy gowns.
The gown in question was a low-cut blue dress that featured a split up the side, although, some fans claimed they could see her nipples through it.
However, once again, Simon was not bothered by the complaints, as he admitted he doesn’t care what Amanda chooses to wear on the show.
He added: “You’ll see some of the outfits this year, it’s like ‘Whoa’ but that’s Amanda.”
Amanda went on to admit Simon never tells her off for what she wears.
She said: “He encourages us to break the rules and be extra naughty and we’ve never been directed on anything, and I think that’s why the show works.”
The auditions for BGT have come to an end and the judges have used their golden buzzers.
On Saturday, the chosen contestants will take to the stage in the hopes of making it to the live semi-finals.
Britain’s Got Talent returns on Saturday at 8pm on ITV.
