Aimee Walker
Ashley Banjo has slammed Jim Davidson’s ‘disgusting’ comment about Diversity’s 2020 Britain’s Got Talent performance in an ‘awkward’ sit-down interview for his Ashley Banjo: Britain in Black and White ITV documentary.
The 33-year-old wanted to probe the comedian about why he felt the need to post a video online about the dance, which narrated the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, and why he branded it ‘ridiculous’ and ‘indulgent’.
He said: “As far as I’m concerned, that video you made about Diversity it was… it was racist in every way. Every single way.”
Watch as Ashley Banjo opens up about his Britain’s Got Talent Black Lives Matter routine in the clip below…
The 68-year-old replied: “If I was talking about you it would be personal rather than be racist.”
Banjo stood his ground and continued to argue that the video could be perceived as ‘racist’.
He said: “It was both. It was personal and racist. I’m from this country, I love this country, I’m from a mixed-race background.”
At this point, Davidson asked the professional dancer whether he identified as black or white, to which he responded: “I consider myself mixed heritage.”
“That’s good,” the stand-up said. “You should know that I believe that the outcome from that dance is more than your wildest dreams.”
Davidson then claimed that he ‘supports’ the concept of Black Lives Matter, but not the movement itself.
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He explained: “People in this country who are frightened. Old ‘white’ people, if you like, like me, are thinking there’s riots going on in Brixton, in South East London where I grew up. There’s stuff going on in America that’s very unsavoury.
“There’s black guys walking around with black stuff. Everyone’s frightened. You diffused that. People are supporting you of all different races. I support Black Lives Matter. I don’t support Black Lives Matter the movement, I support the statement. If you’ve won me over…”
In response, Banjo questioned: “Did you support the statement last year when you made the video?”
The comedian insisted that he did and it didn’t make him ‘racist,’ remarking: “No, you just happened to be black.”
Later on in the interview, Davidson stormed off the set after things got heated.
Banjo responded, saying: “Don’t walk out because I’m asking you the hard questions.”
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