Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spoke to Ashley Banjo amid BGT’s BLM controversy
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed intimate details of their conversation with Ashley Banjo about the Britain’s Got Talent’s Black Lives Matter controversy
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chatted to Ashley Banjo amid the Britain’s Got Talent Black Lives Matter controversy.
Complaints were snowballing into Ofcom after Diversity performed a Black Lives Matter-inspired dance routine where a police officer knelt on Ashley’s neck – depicting the killing of George Floyd.
Now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have weighed in on the controversy swirling around the political dance.
Prince Harry, 36, shared the intimate details of his conversation with Ashley, 31, and even revealed the BGT judge was concerned about viewers’ seething reaction.
He told The Evening Standard : “We spoke to Ashley Banjo a few weeks ago, straight after the Britain’s Got Talent situation. And that in itself, I am sure even me talking about it will be controversial, but the reality of it is he and his team of guys put on the most amazing display.
“We had such a good chat with Ashley. He was really strong, he felt great about it, but at the same time he was concerned because of the reaction. It was a real surprise that there was what? 1,100 complaints after the show and then three days of hype it became 20 or 25,000.”
Ofcom confirmed it would not investigate the 24,500 complaints over viewers’ fury the dance “politicised the family show”.
The watchdog’s official statement read: “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.”
Prince Harry publicly backed Ofcom’s decision as he said this Black Lives Matter is a conversation which needs to be had.
“I am very glad Ofcom made the decision that they did but that in itself kind of proves how much this conversation needs to continue.”
ITV stood behind Diversity – including Ashley – and vowed “change is coming” amid the Ofcom storm.
The choreographed dance was close to becoming one of the most complained moments of the decade on TV.
Harry and Meghan gave their backing as they spoke out about “structural racism” in the UK.
It’s been a busy year for Harry and Meghan since they stepped down from their royal duties in the UK in January.
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