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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Emma Wilson

Jordan Banjo forced to move house as family terrorised with cement over BGT dance

Jordan Banjo had to move house as his family was terrorised following Diversity’s Black Lives Matter inspired performance on Britain's Got Talent.

The 30-year-old is a member of the hugely successful dance troupe, along with brother Ashley Banjo, and they took to the stage in September 2020 to showcase their routine that highlighted racial inequalities and injustice.

The dance featured backing dancers dressed in riot gear, and a picture of a white man standing on Ashley’s neck - a reference to the murder of George Floyd in the US - was projected onto the screen as they performed.

More than 30,000 complained to Ofcom, and Diversity faced a fierce backlash, with racist and violent threats being made against the group's members on social media.

Diversity's performance was 2020's most complained about TV show, with 31,000 complaints (ITV)

Jordan has spoken for the first time about the consequences the routine had on his personal life, and revealed he had to move his wife and young children out of their home to protect them following the powerful performance..

He said furious viewers turned up at his home in Essex, and two men even tried to climb a fence into his property, leaving him fearing for his life.

“It was really scary, I had to move house, I remember I came out one time and there was cement thrown at my car,” he told MailOnline.

The dancer and TV star was living in the house with wife Naomi and their two children, Cassius and Mayowa Angel, who would’ve been aged just two and one at the time.

He said he had to move his young family out of their Essex home as he was away regularly with work, and confessed it was a “scary” time.

“In the end, because I'm not there a lot I had to move house. And I took the kids and Naomi and we just went because I didn't feel comfortable there,” Jordan explained.

Jordan and Ashley became closer after facing the backlash together (David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

He recalled scaring away intruders into fields at the back of his property, and had to call the police on numerous occasions.

However, he said big brother Ashley faced a much harsher backlash, and said he was “getting hammered left, right and centre”.

Despite the controversy, Jordan and his brother have a much stronger relationship, and they were praised by members of the public for their brave and powerful Black Lives Matter performance.

“People at petrol stations, like wherever it was, only positive things but you never noticed that at the time. You only really focused on the negative comments on social media,” he shared.

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