Ashley Banjo
News

Ashley Banjo hits back after survey shows majority of Brits think BLM ‘increased racial tension’

The Diversity star criticised the poll results on Twitter

Ashley Banjo has hit back after a poll found that a slim majority of people in the UK think the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests increased tension in the UK.

Tweeting a link to a report about the survey on social media, the Dancing On Ice judge, 32, clapped back and said ‘tension’ is a necessary part of bringing about change, as are conversation and honesty.

Ashley Banjo hit out at the results of a poll on attitudes to the Black Lives Matter protests (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Earlier this year, Ashley and his Diversity dance group caused an uproar with a controversial routine on Britain’s Got Talent about the BLM movement and the killing of US citizen George Floyd.

The only thing I can suggest to all the people feeling ‘tension’ is some kind of massage?

The routine sparked thousands of complaints to regulator Ofcom.

ashley banjo diversity
Diversity’s performance sparked over 24,000 Ofcom complaints (Credit: ITV)

What did Ashley Banjo say about the BLM poll?

Taking to Twitter on Sunday (November 29), Ashley hit back at the poll as he tweeted: “And the Diversity performance sparked nearly 30,000 complaints… conversation, honesty and ‘tension’ are all very necessary when you’re facing a deep-rooted issue that’s set in over hundreds of years. Apologies to those that felt ‘tense’…”

Read more: BGT final: Ashley Banjo praises Nabil Abdulrashid for ignoring Ofcom complaints

He added, in a second tweet clarifying his intentions with the first: “For anyone who thought this was any kind of genuine apology… I’m just here to set the record straight.

“The only thing I can suggest to all the people feeling ‘tension’ is some kind of massage?

“Once the lockdown is over of course #Blacklivesmatter.”

No Ofcom investigation in Diversity routine

Ashley received the full support of a number of his TV colleagues after Diversity’s controversial routine, including BGT’s Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon.

Ofcom ended up rejecting the complaints and deciding the matter did not need investigating.

Also on his side were Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who reportedly called him up after the performance.

Diversity
The BLM movement inspired Diversity’s BGT routine (Credit: BGT / YouTube)

Ashley Banjo’s royal supporters

Speaking on Lorraine, Ashley said: “Harry and Meghan gave me a call and we chatted for about an hour.

Read more: Ashley Banjo ‘grateful’ for hour-long chat with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle following Ofcom row

“We spoke things through and they just told me […] I can always lean on them. They were really great about it and shared a lot of knowledge with me.”

He added on the ITV daytime show: “They opened my eyes to a lot of things I wasn’t aware of actually, so I was really grateful to both of them.”

Poster

Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think of this story.


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor