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Ashley Banjo praises ITV for standing by Diversity’s BLM performance

The dance sparked over 24,000 Ofcom complaints

Ashley Banjo has praised ITV for standing by Diversity’s Black Lives Matter performance.

Their powerful performance aired on Britain’s Got Talent earlier this month, and media watchdog Ofcom has since received over 24,000 complaints about the dance.

Despite the complaints, ITV showed their support for the dance troupe by rolling out a full-page advert across national newspapers in the UK today.

The black-and-white poster shows Ashley taking a knee, alongside the words: “We are changed by what we see. Just as we are changed when we are seen. ITV stand with Diversity.”

 

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A post shared by Ashley Banjo (@ashleybanjogram) on

Sharing a photo of the advert on Instagram, Ashley wrote: “This is what change looks like.”

“@itv stand with @diversity_official and we’ve never been prouder. This is in all the national papers today.

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

The news comes after Ofcom confirmed they wouldn’t be investigating Diversity’s performance, despite receiving over 24,000 complaints about it.

ITV

A spokesperson for Ofcom said in a statement: “We carefully considered a large number of complaints about this artistic routine, an area where freedom of expression is particularly important.”

“Diversity’s performance referred to challenging and potentially controversial subjects, and in our view, its central message was a call for social cohesion and unity.

“Any depictions of violence by the performers were highly stylised and symbolic of recent global events, and there was no explicit reference to any particular political organisation – but rather a message that the lives of black people matter.”

The dance troupe’s routine tackled issues such as police brutality, racism, and the coronavirus pandemic.

Part of the routine showed a dancer portraying a white police officer kneeling on the neck of lead dancer and choreographer Ashley Banjo, echoing the killing of George Floyd in the US earlier this year.

On this week’s episode of Goss Chats, Goss.ie CEO Ali Ryan chats with award-winning makeup artist and MRS Glam creator, Michelle Regazolli Stone. 

The celebrity MUA opens up about the ups and downs of living through the pandemic, and how her makeup range saved her.

#GossChats is sponsored by top Irish aesthetic clinic Haus of JeJuve.

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