Jim Davidson has sparked fury with an expletive-filled rant about Diversity, in which he suggested they do a "mugging thing".
Jim Davidson
The 66-year-old comedian blasted the dance troupe's recent controversial 'Britain's Got Talent' performance - which narrated the death of George Floyd, among other recent events, and has received more than 23,000 complaints to Ofcom - branding it "f****** ridiculous", and claiming they "don't give a f***" about George.
Speaking on his YouTube channel in a video titled 'Who Needs Diversity?', he said: "Diversity, what the f*** do you want? You want to be famous, don't you? You want to be all around the world. That's why you're doing it, you don't give a f*** about George. F****** ridiculous.
"What more can people do before you say, 'Oh that's enough now?' You don't see white couples on adverts anymore, do you? Most TV presenters are non-white. 'The Golden Girls', that's being made by black people. Tom and Jerry's mum will probably be reinstated.
"And there's loads of white people sticking up for you. Young white girls walking around with banners, 'defund the police', 'support black people'. Well, I say most young girls. Gemma's sister is not holding up a banner as she was violently mugged by three black men. Perhaps Diversity can do a mugging thing."
The former 'Celebrity Big Brother' winner also branded the performance - in which Ashley Banjo was knelt on by a fellow dancer dressed as a policeman, to reflect George's passing after an office knelt on his neck - the "most indulgent piece of stuff" he has seen in a while.
He added: "They're all dressed as BLM people, of course, and they ended up with a policeman's knee on the neck of a black man.
"I thought that was the most indulgent piece of stuff I've seen in ages. What was the point? Why do we have to re-enact some poor man's death?"
Several stars have hit out at Jim following his rant.
Singer/songwriter Lisa Moorish took to Twitter to ask veterans charity Care After Combat if they are going to "drop" Jim from their campaign.
And novelist Matt Haig wrote: "I am old enough to remember Jim Davidson having a mainstream ITV show. That he no longer does gives me faith that progress exists."
This comes after ITV backed Diversity yesterday (15.09.20), amid the backlash over their 'Britain's Got Talent' performance.
In a statement published on their website, an ITV spokesman said: "'Britain's Got Talent' has always been an inclusive show, which showcases diversity and supports strong storytelling in all forms and ITV stands behind the decision to broadcast Diversity's performance on 'BGT'.
"Ashley and the group are a great example of the talent, creativity and diversity of modern Britain and their performance was an authentic, heartfelt response to many of the issues and events which have affected society in 2020."
Judge Amanda Holden revealed this week that 'BGT' have been "inundated with hundreds of thousands of positive responses" to Diversity's routine, and Ashley - who is standing in for Simon Cowell on the show's judging panel - insisted the criticism to the routine shows why it was so important.
He said: "A lot of the comments showed just why this performance was needed.
"Racism is very real. I knew it before, and I definitely know it now. After this performance, everything that we've received it's been overwhelming in a negative sense sometimes."
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