Ashley Banjo has told that Diversity's Black Lives Matter-themed dance routine is the subject of debate even among his own family.
The star stepped up during the last series of Britain's Got Talent to fill in for absentee judge Simon Cowell, and during the finals took to the stage with the rest of Diversity.
And in a performance that sparked nearly 30,000 complaints to broadcast watchdog Ofcom, the group depicted through dance the death of George Floyd, which over the summer provoked global protests.
Ashley's always been open about what the routine meant to him personally and thanked ITV for sticking by him amid a flood of complaints.
And now he's told The Daily Star that it even saw his own family divided on the issue.
Ashley, who's currently starring in Dancing On Ice, said: "Even among my own family and friends the performance sparked conversation.
"There has been some negativity with my family. There was division.
"People didn't directly disagree with the performance but there was a conversation about if it was really necessary. I saw it happen in my own household.
"And there are people who normally talk to me but suddenly we haven't spoken at all. Silence says a lot."
He told last year how he'd "feared" for his safety amid negative comments he received.
"Even though we never said it out loud to each other, it affected our way of thinking and our behaviour to an extent," he told GQ.
"It affected the way that we acted. I walked out of the front door, and you always have to prepare yourself for some level of attention, but I didn't know what kind of attention I was going to get, especially when you're getting open threats.
"It's a lot to deal with."
Ashley recently jumped to the defence of Dancing On Ice contestant Rufus Hound, who slammed the government over the school meals scandal during the series' opener.
He told The Mirror: "I think [Rufus' comments] were absolutely appropriate. I've said this before, he's a comedian, he's an intelligent and emotional man who takes cues from the real world around him, to formulate an opinion. That's what we all do.
"He said something in response which was the way he felt, of course he was allowed to say it."
