AMANDA Holden says Britain’s Got Talent got “100,000s” of positive comments for Diversity’s Black Lives Matter routine – despite 15,500 Ofcom complaints.
The star – who is head judge while Simon Cowell recovers from his back injury – said she backs Ashley “100%” after there was a huge public backlash against his performance.
The dance showed Ashley being knelt on by a white police officer in order to invoke the death of George Floyd in America.
But Amanda has stuck up for her co-star and said they have received “hundreds of thousands” of positive responses, despite receiving 15,500 complaints to Ofcom.
She told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid: “It is extraordinary. I think the number of negative complaints means this conversation is right and needs to happen.
“What hasn’t been reported is the positive response – hundreds of thousands of them. We stand by them and stand by Ashley Banjo 100%.”
Earlier in the show, Piers told viewers who objected to the dance to “wake up or stop watching Good Morning Britain”.
The journalist said: “If you can’t handle that without feeling the need to never watch BGT again or to complain to Ofcom, there’s something wrong with you. You, you’re the problem. You’re part of the problem.
“By the way, if you don’t like me saying this, then don’t watch us either. Don’t watch Good Morning Britain. Because I agree with Ashley Banjo and Diversity. And if you can’t handle it Britain, wake up.”
The number of complaints has soared over the week after Ashley Banjo led the dance troupe for the performance on last Saturday’s episode.
Diversity’s powerful performance is now the second-most complained about TV moment in a decade.
The first is Roxanne Pallett’s Celebrity Big Brother ‘punchgate’ drama with former Corrie star Ryan Thomas with 25,327 complaints and Kim Woodburn’s interview on Loose Women comes third with 7,912 complaints.
Ashley revealed earlier this week that he had received a barrage of abuse over the performance.
