Alesha Dixon has told critics to "kiss [her] black a**" in support of Diversity’s Black Lives Matter routine.
The ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ star has backed her fellow judge Ashley Banjo after more than 10,000 people complained to Ofcom about the dance troupe’s powerful performance last weekend.
Alesha wrote "they can kiss my black a**" under an Instagram post shared by Ashley from a social media user unhappy with the routine, which narrated the death of George Floyd, and included the dancer being knelt on by one of his group who was dressed as a policeman, in a nod to George’s tragic passing.
The user wrote: "We the Great British Public will only support you if you entertain us and do not say anything about racism."
Ashley shared a screenshot of the message, and replied: "1. You do not represent or speak for the Great British public.
"2. Silence was never and will never be an option. 3. Change is inevitable… Get used to it."
‘BGT’ judge Amanda Holden commented with a heart emoji, while JLS star Aston Merrygold replied: "It’s like that yeah! Guess it’s time to speak louder for the people that can’t quite hear!"
Ashley’s brother and fellow Diversity member Jordan Banjo has admitted the reaction to their performance is "sad".
He said: "It was really important, it was special to us, and we’re all about positivity and love, and we got so much positivity and love back from this one.
"But we also got bombarded with messages and articles and horrible stuff about all of us, about our families, about how even now Diversity isn’t diverse enough because there’s only five white people in it.
"I can’t speak for anyone else, but it’s sad. It’s sad, genuinely. I feel anxious and worried saying something like black lives matter when that’s all we want, man. It’s just love and positivity. No-one’s saying only black lives matter."
Earlier this week, an Ofcom spokesperson said: "We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate."
A ‘BGT’ spokesperson said this week: "Diversity’s performance offered their take on the extraordinary events of 2020 opening up important topics of conversation. The show was compiled for a family audience."