Britain’s Got Talent: Ofcom rejects 24,000 complaints about Diversity dance performance

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A Black Lives Matter-inspired dance performance on Britain’s Got Talent will not be investigated by Ofcom, it has been confirmed. More than 24,000 complaints had been made to Ofcom in the wake of the performance, which saw dance act Diversity memorialise George Floyd and celebrate the Black Lives Matter movement. The performance saw group leader Ashley Banjo pinned down by a police officer, with the group going on to take the knee on the words: “Black Lives Matter.” In a statement Ofcom said: “We carefully considered a large number of complaints about this artistic routine, an area where freedom of expression is particularly important. 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.” Ofcom also confirmed that complaints about the performance revolved around four claims: that it was racist against white people, that it portrayed the police in a negative fashion, was unsuitable for a family audience, and that it “expressed support for a political organisation” in Black Lives Matter.