Ashley Banjo didn’t leave the house for weeks after backlash to Diversity’s Britain’s Got Talent BLM routine

The performance sparked Ofcom complaints earlier this year (Picture: ITV)

Ashley Banjo has spoken about the backlash Diversity faced following their BLM routine on Britain’s Got Talent, saying he didn’t leave the house for weeks due to the reaction. 

The troupe performed an emotive dance on the ITV series last year, which was inspired by the death of George Floyd in the US.

While many praised the performance, they were met with a huge wave of Ofcom complaints – and Ashley has also revealed that he received threats online.

When asked how it affected him during an interview with the Radio Times, he replied: ‘Hugely. It consumed every waking moment at one point.’

The 33-year-old said: ‘We’d never had a negative reaction to anything really, and this was a huge reaction.’

Admitting that gor a few weeks, he didn’t leave his home, Ashley added: ‘I needed a little while to process what was going on. You don’t know how messages on Twitter or Instagram will translate in the physical world.’

‘People [were] saying I’d get my head kicked in. Then other people chiming in saying they “can’t wait to see it”. People took photos of our studio and said, “There are a few of us who don’t want you training here any more so hopefully we don’t bump into you.”’

More recently, Jim Davidson stormed out during a discussion on race with Ashley Banjo, after criticising Diversity’s BLM routine.

The comedian, 67, was among those taking aim at the group in a shocking, explicit rant.

Jim Davidson stormed out over a heated discussion on racism with Ashley Banjo (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

In a vile YouTube video, titled ‘Who needs Diversity?’, Davidson called the group’s routine ‘ridiculous’ and ‘indulgent’, suggesting they should have done a video about ‘mugging’ instead.

More: Britain’s Got Talent

The performer invited Jim for a debate about race and his previous comments, and filmed the scenes for his ITV documentary Ashley Banjo: Britain in Black and White. However, things quickly took a tense turn as the Celebrity Big Brother star attempted to defend his words.

Has he spoken to the comedian since then? ‘We haven’t stayed in contact. Jim has spoken a lot about it online, but I don’t need to say anything else. I want to let the documentary speak.’

Ashley Banjo: Britain in Black and White is available to stream on ITV Hub now.

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