Britain’s Got Talent: Alesha Dixon’s Black Lives Matter necklace prompts 1,900 complaints
Series judge wore jewellery in solidarity with dance group Diversity
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Ofcom has received more than 1,900 complaints after Alesha Dixon showed support for Diversity by wearing a Black Lives Matter necklace on Britain’s Got Talent.
On Saturday night’s episode (19 September), Dixon – who is a judge on BGT – wore a layered gold necklace made up of the BLM letters.
An Ofcom spokesman told the BBC: "We are assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate."
Dixon wore the necklace after a Black Lives Matter-themed performance by dance group Diversity, which featured Ashley Banjo being pinned down by a police officer, in reference to the death of George Floyd.
The performance sparked more than 24,500 complaints to Ofcom, with some viewers accusing it of being “too political” for a Saturday night entertainment programme and perceiving it to be racist against white people.
ITV came out in full support of the dance, and over the weekend it took out full-page adverts in every national newspaper that stated: “ITV stand with Diversity.”
Ofcom also said it would not investigate the routine, saying it did not consider it to be racist.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments