Maya Jama insists Black Lives Matter needs to be ‘put in peoples faces’

Maya Jama has thrown her support behind Black Lives Matter and the symbolic act of taking the knee following a negative public response to both on prime time television. 

Britain’s Got Talent dance troupe Diversity and popular sitcom The Vicar Of Dibley have both been targeted for their support of BLM – a political and social movement dedicated to the protest of police brutality and racially charged violence against people of colour.

But Maya, who will host the 2020 MOBO Awards on Wednesday evening, believes the movement needs greater coverage across mainstream television while ‘uncomfortable discussions’ must still be had regarding racism and racial injustice.  

She told Metro: ‘I saw the reaction after the Diversity performance and I stand with them. ‘It was a powerful performance and I think it’s necessary to show it on TV. 

‘I didn’t really understand the outrage, it’s raising the awareness of the right things, it’s not trying to offend anyone.’

Diversity sparked almost 25,000 complaints to TV regulator Ofcom following their politically charged Britain’s Got Talent performance on September 5th. 

The routine, which narrated the senseless death of black man George Floyd beneath the knee of a white police officer four months earlier, divided fans after it aired during the live prime time show.

The negative response made it the second most complained about TV moment of all time, just behind Roxanne’s Pallett’s notorious appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, with a record 25,237 objections.

Dawn French sitcom The Vicar of Dibley has since come under fire after a faction of viewers took offence to her character, Reverend Geraldine Granger, taking the knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. 

Reflecting on common misconceptions surrounding the movement, Maya added:  ‘There was always an up and down where if you said Black Lives Matter people thought other lives didn’t and that was never the case. 

‘To me it’s always been straightforward, I can’t see why people are confused by the meaning of it. 

‘It’s to show black people have been neglected and hurt and killed without people taking accountability or going to jail for it.   

‘Times need to change and the only way to do that is to put things in people’s faces and have the uncomfortable conversations. 

‘We need to put things like that on prime time TV to open people’s eyes a bit instead of pretending there’s nothing going on.’ 

Maya recently announced she has donated 70% of all profits from her Cling Cling range of clothing to Black Lives Matter.  

Confirming the news on Twitter, she wrote: ‘As you know I have been selling my cling cling merch for the last week & 30% of all sales are being donated to sisters uncut. 

‘I’ve decided to donate the other 70% to the Black Lives Matter movement to support the organisation’s ongoing fight to end state-sanctioned violence.’