Diversity’s Jordan (left) and Ashely Banjo (right) accepted Bafta for BLM performance (Picture: Rex & ITV)
Ashley Banjo has revealed he needed to beef up security for his family after backlash over Diversity’s Britain’s Got Talent performance that referenced the Black Lives Matter protests.
The dancer, 32, received an onslaught of online abuse following the show in September, which racked up more than 30,000 complaints from viewers.
Despite this, the dance troupe won a Bafta in the must-see moment category on Sunday night for their groundbreaking performance, beating out EastEnders, Gogglebox, Nigella Lawson, The Mandalorian and Bridgerton.
Even though Ashley was delighted with the win, it followed a tough few months.
Ashley told The Mirror that the abuse after the show was so bad, he feared for the safety of his wife Francesca and their children Rose, 2, and Micah, 14 months.
‘After the routine, there was so much negativity. At one point I think I was counting 70 to 100 tweets a minute,’ he said.
Ashley feared for his family’s safety (Picture: @ashleybanjogram)
Diversity performed at Britain’s Got Talent last year (Picture: Dymond/Thames/Syco/Shutterstock)
‘You get abusive messages and threats – “We know where you train, we know where you live”. We had to beef up our security system, just to make everyone who was home alone feel safer.
‘When it was all kicking off my wife rang me and wanted to check how to set the alarm, what beams were where and where the keys were.’
Ofcom didn’t uphold the complaints, saying the dance routine’s ‘message was a call for social cohesion and unity’.
On Sunday Ashley was able to publically thank those who supported him through such a dark time.
‘Thank you to every single person that voted for us. It means so much,’ he said.
Diversity’s Jordan (left) and Ashely Banjo (right) accepted Bafta for BLM performance (Picture: Rex & ITV)
Ashley Banjo has revealed he needed to beef up security for his family after backlash over Diversity’s Britain’s Got Talent performance that referenced the Black Lives Matter protests.
The dancer, 32, received an onslaught of online abuse following the show in September, which racked up more than 30,000 complaints from viewers.
Despite this, the dance troupe won a Bafta in the must-see moment category on Sunday night for their groundbreaking performance, beating out EastEnders, Gogglebox, Nigella Lawson, The Mandalorian and Bridgerton.
Even though Ashley was delighted with the win, it followed a tough few months.
Ashley told The Mirror that the abuse after the show was so bad, he feared for the safety of his wife Francesca and their children Rose, 2, and Micah, 14 months.
‘After the routine, there was so much negativity. At one point I think I was counting 70 to 100 tweets a minute,’ he said.
Ashley feared for his family’s safety (Picture: @ashleybanjogram)
Diversity performed at Britain’s Got Talent last year (Picture: Dymond/Thames/Syco/Shutterstock)
‘You get abusive messages and threats – “We know where you train, we know where you live”. We had to beef up our security system, just to make everyone who was home alone feel safer.
‘When it was all kicking off my wife rang me and wanted to check how to set the alarm, what beams were where and where the keys were.’
Ofcom didn’t uphold the complaints, saying the dance routine’s ‘message was a call for social cohesion and unity’.
On Sunday Ashley was able to publically thank those who supported him through such a dark time.
‘Thank you to every single person that voted for us. It means so much,’ he said.