Peter Andre has hit out at Britain’s Got Talent viewers who complained about Diversity’s Black Lives Matter dance routine.
The dance troupe’s controversial performance, which featured Ashley Banjo lying on the floor with a white police officer kneeling on his neck, is now the second-most complained-about TV moment of the decade, racking up 10,267 complaints – and counting.
The Mysterious Girl singer, 47, told HOAR: “People need to chill out. You can use dance to express your feelings and when people stop you from doing that, it’s going to be a very sad day.
“Ashley and the band have worked so hard, and they are so passionate. They are right to say that this is wrong – how dare people complain?
“The subject is very true to Diversity and [the complaints] are wrong. Nobody should criticise them.
“I suffered so much racism as a kid – if people have never experienced racism or bullying then they will never understand how it feels.”
The subject is very close to Pete’s heart, as the father-of-four has suffered racist abuse for many years, starting when his Greek-Cypriot family moved to Australia.
He revealed this week that he straightens his naturally curly hair when he’s out in public, because he’s ‘so scarred’ by racist taunts about it and sees what they said about it in the mirror.
Pete previously opened up about the effects of racism on his family on his reality show, Life With The Andres – with the second series airing exclusively on HOAR’s YouTube Channel from today (Sunday).
Peter’s talking to HOAR as he films the latest episode which also features his doctor wife Emily, their kids Amelia, six, and Theo, three, as well as older children Junior, 15, and Princess, 13, who he shares with ex Katie Price.
The first series was filmed by Pete and his kids with handheld cameras amid the coronavirus lockdown, but Peter – whose wife Emily is a NHS doctor – is not letting the latest rule changes or the virus get him down, despite suffering from anxiety in the past.
He said: “There is a lot of anxiety around the constant changes. I’m not anxious. I’m not going to stress.
“I’m not going to slate the government as they won’t get everything right. But it’s the mixed messages – one minute we’re being told to Eat Out To Help Out, the next we’re being told we’re locking down again because we went out.
“Emily and I have talked about things and she’s said everyone will eventually get coronavirus; it’s on the cards.
“The only thing we’re doing is putting off the inevitable if we keep shutting everything down.”
Emily secretly battled coronavirus symptoms at the start of lockdown – suffering with a sore throat, muscle aches and a loss of taste and smell – and although she didn’t do a Covid-19 test at the time, she tested positive for antibodies afterwards.
Peter and Emily decided not to tell their children to avoid them worrying about their health, although Junior later displayed symptoms and self-isolated in his bedroom for two weeks at their Surrey mansion.
At the time, Pete told HOAR: “It was terrible. I would make them both food and take it upstairs, knock and run back down again and get a text from Emily saying, ‘Thank you so much for the food, I hate this I want to come down but I can’t.’”
“Junior would text me saying thanks for delivering my food to my prison cell!”
“Then I thought – I can’t get it because what will we do then? It was the worst time.”
Consequently, Pete was concerned about his brood returning to school – with the star even saying he’d pay a fine to keep his children out of school.
However, Pete now says it’s “all good”, adding that “Junior is doing his GCSEs. He’s working hard and it’s paying off – he got an A in his Maths and biology.”
While school comes first, all four of the kids are excited to pick up the cameras again for Life With The Andres.
Pete has also revealed he wants to expand his family with another baby – he just needs to convince Emily first.
The NHS doctor, 31, said she doesn’t want any more kids during such “different times”.
But the family man is convinced he’ll be able to win his wife over to the idea – and if not, maybe he will get the snip?
“We are talking about it. If we’re talking about it, it will eventually happen, right?!
“Ironically lockdown brought us both closer together and so we’ll have more of a chance!
“I think every guy is scared of having the snip because it means a closed chapter. But why should the woman always be the one to take precautions? It’s something to think about.
“But if Emily is really not up for it, maybe I will have the snip … only if it’s reversible!”
- Watch the new series of Life With The Andres exclusively on HOAR’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/thesun.
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