AMANDA Holden has admitted that she “didn’t realise” Alesha Dixon was wearing a Black Lives Matter necklace on last week’s pre-recorded episode of Britain’s Got Talent.
Earlier this week, HOAR Online revealed that Alesha’s bold choice of jewellery had sparked almost 2,000 Ofcom complaints from angry viewers.
And now Amanda has revealed that her bad eyesight meant that she didn’t realise the poignant message behind the bling when she first saw her co-star on set.
She explained: “I didn’t even realise she was wearing it! I was sat right next to her and was like: ‘Oh, that’s lovely!’
“And she went: ‘Look at it, babe’ and I went: ‘Oh, yes’.
“It took me ages… It’s my eyes you see – I’m sat a couple of meters away.”
The star went on to back her pal amid the backlash, while insisting that 41-year-old Alesha can fight her own battles.
She continued to Huffington Post: “Alesha, believe me, is tough and can fight her own corner. She doesn’t need me but she’s got me right there if she needs me… I’ve got a mouthguard and a hot towel ready.”
Ofcom have not yet ruled whether or not they will be investigating Alesha’s necklace further, but it comes shortly after the cleared Britain’s Got Talent for Diversity’s powerful Black Lives Matter performance on 5 September.
The emotional routine sparked 24,500 complaints to the TV regulator, with the routine showing stand-in BGT judge Ashley Banjo lying on the floor with a white police officer kneeling on him, referencing the death of George Floyd in the US.
There were also backing dancers dressed in riot gear and the group took the knee partway through.
Despite the overwhelming backlash, broadcaster ITV, Ofcom, and celebrities have thrown their support behind the emotional routine – with ITV shelling out on full-page ads in national newspapers at the weekend to make their stance clear.
The poster showed Ashley taking the knee during the routine alongside the words: “We are changed by what we see. Just as we are changed when we are seen. ITV stand with Diversity.”
Ofcom also released a statement to say that they would not be investigating the thousands of complaints.
They asserted: “We carefully considered a large number of complaints about this artistic routine, an area where freedom of expression is particularly important.
“Diversity’s performance referred to challenging and potentially controversial subjects, and in our view, its central message was a call for social cohesion and unity.
“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.”
