Diversity star Perri Kiely insists he wants to reopen the debate surrounding racial injustice after the dance troupe’s controversial Black Lives Matter routine was nominated for a TV BAFTA.
The London based group suffered fierce criticism after performing the Britain’s Got Talent routine, inspired by the racial unrest that followed unarmed black man George Floyd‘s death beneath the knee of a white police officer last May.
Regulatory body Ofcom received 27,000 complaints after the performance was broadcast during an episode of the family friendly talent show, with members of the group later subjected to death threats on social media.
Ready: Diversity star Perri Kiely insists he is ‘open to another backlash’ after the dance troupe’s controversial Black Lives Matter routine was nominated for a TV BAFTA
But Perri, 25, insists he is happy to reignite the controversy following their surprise BAFTA nomination if it helps open a broader discussion regarding racial injustice.
He told The Sun: ‘Touching on subjects as big as what we talked about, we were always going to get a lot of complaints.
‘It would have been weirder to not talk about it so we did our job, we stood up for what’s right. Every single person on that stage is proud of that performance… and now we’re up for a BAFTA, how crazy is that?’
Controversy: The group suffered a furious backlash after performing the Britain’s Got Talent routine, inspired by the racial unrest that followed the death of George Floyd in May 2020
Important issue: But Perri insists he is happy to reignite the controversy following their surprise BAFTA nomination if it helps open a broader discussion regarding racial injustice
Reflecting on Floyd’s death, he added: ‘It happened, it needs to be spoken about not glossed over. Hopefully this gets everyone talking about it more – because we need to talk about it and we need to change.
‘People can do it however they want, but we’re performers, that’s how we express ourselves.’
Diversity member Ashley Banjo previously revealed he received up to 100 abusive tweets every minute following the routine.
Outrage: Regulatory body Ofcom received 27,000 complaints after the performance was broadcast during an episode of family friendly talent show Britain’s Got Talent
Speaking to The Sunday Times, he said: ‘Dad was worried we were about to put our futures on the line. “You’re doing well, why rock the boat?” But I had to.
‘We had millions of eyes on us. I wanted to portray what was going on in the world. Afterwards, I got around one hundred abusive tweets.’
The group will compete with Bridgerton, EastEnders, Gogglebox, The Mandalorian and Nigella Lawson’s mangled pronunciation of the word ‘microwave’ on Cook, Eat, Repeat for the BAFTA Must-See Moment award.
The event will take place on June 6th, with actor Richard Ayoade serving as host.
Source: Daily Mail
