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Diversity’s Ashley Banjo has taken to Instagram to address the backlash over the BLM routine the dance group performed on Britain’s Got Talent.
The anti-racism performance sparked 15,000 complaints, but the father of two, Ashley insisted the response was overwhelmingly positive and said he will never be more than proud of the performance.
“I just wanted to make a video to address some issues, it’s been a crazy week and I’ve been a bit quiet socially, I’ve been living life, trying not to get caught up in all of this, but now I feel like it’s time to come. . go out and say some things, “he began.
“First of all, I want to thank you, because all the people who have supported what Diversity and I did with our performance, have reached out.
(Image: Ashley Banjo / Instagram)
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“It’s honestly overwhelming, the positive reaction to what we did, hundreds of thousands of messages, comments, DMs and interactions on the street.
“I know a lot of the press reports have been about complaints and negativity, that there have been many, there have been 15, 16,000 complaints, a lot of negativity thrown into the performance.
“Trust me, I’m right in the middle and negativity is the minority.
(Image: Ashley Banjo / Instagram)
“The positive response has been huge, so many thanks to everyone who supported us, showed love and supported what we did.”
She also thanked everyone who had reached out to Diversity to check that they were okay and insisted that they were.
“We feel positive, proud, happy, confident and we support every decision we make with that performance,” he said.
(Image: ITV)
Heartbreakingly, Ashley said she was receiving brutal abuse by following the routine: “Everything from racial abuse, threats, to some really nasty stuff.”
He continued, “I’m not going to give you any more time than you deserve, but a lot of the negativity, all the nastiness and racism shows exactly why this performance was needed and exactly why this conversation has come up now. Necessary.
“Racism is very real, especially after this performance, I knew it before and I definitely know it now.”
(Image: ITV)
But he added that Diversity is happy to have started the conversation and it’s a price he’s willing to pay.
He also explained the powerful performance and what it represented, saying: “The performance was a summary of an extraordinary year, from the lockdown to COVID, the incredible NHS, the spotlight that has been put on racism, everything that happened. With George Floyd in America, the protests, the riots, culminated in the idea of unity, hope.
“People look back, 2020 hindsight – that’s what acting was all about, it was layered, we wanted to give people hope and not shy away from tough issues.
“This is a year that will go down in history for both positive and negative reasons.
“What really seemed to connect with people and agitate and annoy and offend some people is the fact that we got up and said that racism is real, and as far as we are concerned, it has to change and it will not be tolerated.” , because Black Lives Matter “.
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