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BGT hit with more than 2,000 Ofcom complaints mostly over BLM-inspired comedy

Britain's Got Talent drew to a close over the weekend, comedy singer Jon Courtenay being crowned champ and the show wrapping up for another year.

And after a year that saw broadcast regulator Ofcom swamped with complaints about the show, it capped off the series by receiving more than 2,000 complaints.

Most of these, Ofcom says, were to do with comedian Nabil Abdulrashid's comedy set.

Earlier in the series, complaints soared to more than 24,000 after new judge Ashley Banjo and his Diversity dance troupe pals performed a Black Lives Matter-inspired routine.

Ashley and Diversity stood by the performance, as did ITV, with Ofcom ruling it did not need to be investigated.

Judge Amanda Holden's dress during one of the semi-final also reportedly became a target of complaints.

During Nabil's routine, the funnyman poked fun at the fact that his performances in previous weeks had sparked complaints.

"I am glad we are here, I thought we wouldn't make it," he mused, "A lot of complaints, they complained because we said black lives matter.

"Thousands of complaints. To be honest with you, I'm shocked that many of them know how to write. They sent thousands of angry letters, hopefully, if I annoy them today, they can progress on to words."

He went on to joke: "They wrote complaints about me, that's what upsets me.

"What have I said to offend anybody? You think I came out here and said something really inflammatory like Winston Churchill was black – by the way, he was. I can prove it.

"When was the last time you saw a white man named Winston?"

Nabil later added: "I know what it's like to get a few complaints.

"There are two ways you can react, you can bend to pressure or you can be unapologetically yourself. It's not even about being black it’s about being unapologetically you."

Ofcom told Metro : "We have received 2094 complaints about this programme, most of which relate to Nabil Abdulrashid's performance."

Following the reaction to Diversity's performance, Ofcom ruled: "We carefully considered a large number of complaints about this artistic routine, an area where freedom of expression is particularly important.

"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.

"Any depictions of violence by the performers were highly stylised and symbolic of recent global events, and there was no explicit reference to any particular political organisation – but rather a message that the lives of black people matter.

"We will not be taking this case on to formal investigation."

Mirror Online has reached out to ITV, Ofcom and Nabil for further comment.

Source: msn.com
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