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Alesha Dixon’s BLM Necklace Prompts 1,900 Complaints
A recent episode of the U.K. competition show, Britain’s Got Talent, is the subject of over 1,900 complaints after one of its judges, Alesha Dixon wore a Black Lives Matter necklace on air.
The British media watchdog, Ofcom, confirms that “the vast majority” of complaints over the September 19 broadcast pertain specifically to Dixon’s necklace, which hung a trio of gold pendants to spell “BLM.” Critics charge that this political statement was not appropriate in the context of the program, and thus constituted a violation of the regulator’s broadcasting codes.
The flap comes on the heels of another Black Lives Matter-related outcry over a Britain’s Got Talent broadcast, this time over a September 5 dance performance that referenced the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. After receiving some 24,500 complaints about the program, Ofcom determined that the matter did not warrant a formal investigation. “[The message of the performance] was a call for social cohesion and unity,” said representatives of the organization.
An Ofcom spokesperson says that the organization has “yet to decide whether or not to investigate” the latest round of complaints, according to the BBC.
