Ashley Banjo received a backlash at his' failure to apologize' for Black Lives Matter performance during Britain's Got Talent last week. Many BGT fans complained at his performance, and it comes as the judge Alesha Dixon reportedly mentioned that she would quit the show if ITV says sorry over the BLM-inspired dance.
Ashley Banjo, who appeared as a guest judge, performed a routine that heavily referenced the death of George Floyd in America. The performance featured a police officer kneeling on Ashley's neck, which attained numerous attention for bringing a political stance during a family entertainment show.
Ashley Banjo recently addressed the complaints through his Instagram account, where he shared a video. He said, 'It's been a lot, everything from racial abuse to threats, to just some really nasty stuff. I'm not going to give light to it, I'm not going to give it any more time than it deserves.'
'But a lot of the negativity, the nastiness, and the racism shows exactly why these performances and exactly why this conversation that has arisen is so necessary,' he added. He mentioned:
"Firstly I want to say thank you to all the people who are supportive of me and Diversity's performance, who've reached out. Honestly, it's overwhelming the positive reaction to what we did. Hundreds of thousands of messages, comments, DMs, and interactions in the street. There's been what 15-16,000 complaints of negativity thrown back at the performance, but trust me I'm right in the center of it and the negativity is in the minority. The positive response has been huge so thank you so much, everyone, who has supported and shown love, stood by what we did."
He captioned, 'Feeling nothing but proud and positive. Stick with Love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.' - MLK'
Ashley Banjo's Married Life
Ashley Banjo is married to his wife named Francesca Abbott, whom he first met through dance. Francesca is a dancer and a talent manager, who is a former member of the dance troupe Out of the Shadow. The pair were childhood sweethearts and have been together for thirteen years.
Ashley Banjo and his wife Francesca Abbott (©: Bustle)
They dated for several years and got married in 2015. The couple is also parents to their two children. They welcomed their second child named Rose Adura Banjo in February 2020.
Banjo opened about the birth of his new baby through an Instagram post citing:
"Our beautiful daughter came into the world at 6.45 pm on 21st February 2019 - weighing a healthy 8lbs and 13oz. Her name is Rose Adura Banjo. I am in the deepest love ever with my little family."
The lovebirds now are enjoying their married life of one and a half-decades.
Ashley Banjo's Net Worth
Ashley Banjo, as an actor, dancer, and choreographer, has a net worth of $1 million. Banjo first hit the media headlines after winning the 2009's Britain's Got Talent with his group Diversity. Later, Queen Elizabeth invited the group to perform at the Royal Variety Show.
He also choreographed the group's Christmas tour Limitless tour in 2013. He also served as a judge of a competition series on Sky 1, Got to Dance.
Besides that, he appears on the series as a guest star. Also, he has made several television appearances on the tv shows, including The Real Hustle, The Magicians, Text Santa, Celebrity Juice, The Cube, Stella, and others.
Along with him, his brother Jordan Banjo is also a dancer.