Britain's Got Talent has already had hundreds of Ofcom complaints relating to one particular gory act - but the Brit Awards almost matched the number of objections in just one night
Britain’s Got Talent has been slapped with a fresh wave of Ofcom complaints just two weeks after the new season began.
It’s been confirmed that in the week from February 25 to March 3, Ofcom received 57 complaints about the ITV show. The watchdog told the Mirror: “The vast majority of complaints were about Auzzy Blood’s routine.”
Just one week before, however, BGT caused a jaw-dropping 771 complaints, with Ofcom confirming the cumulative total so far as 828 complaints - with sword swallower Auzzy again responsible for a huge chunk.
Auzzy’s performance saw some fans swear to stop watching the show, with many complaining on X, formerly known as Twitter, about the gory routine. “Can't watch Auzzy Blood! what a weirdo! I've changed channel,” one viewer wrote after a particularly shocking moment. Alongside Auzzy scaring viewers away, some viewers also complained about nudity in Akira Ohashi's routine on the show.
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While 828 complaints might sound high over the course of two weeks, the Brit Awards almost matched BGT’s run so far in just one night. The annual ceremony received a wild 825 complaints for its March 1 airing, which saw a series of live speeches and performances.
Speaking to the Mirror, Ofcom revealed that the majority of the hundreds of complaints “related to Sabrina Carpenter’s opening dance routine, and Charlie XCX’s outfit.”
Brit-watchers were particularly unhappy seeing as Sabrina’s performance came before the 9pm watershed, showing her in lacy lingerie as she performed her hits Espresso and Bed Chem. "Bit inappropriate for an awards show…." one person wrote online following her suggestive dance moves and innuendo-filled lyrics.
Sabrina herself seemed to realise she’d made some waves with her show, joking about the outcry on Instagram afterwards. Alongside photos of herself backstage posing on the Brits red carpet, she cheekily wrote: "Brits i now know what watershed is!!!!"
Meanwhile, Charli XCX opted for a sheer black gown and again seemed to acknowledge that she might be pushing some viewers’ limits - but suggested that anyone with complaints could get over it. Swanning on stage to accept her award for artist of the year, she said: “I heard that ITV were complaining about my nipples. I feel like we’re in the era of free the nipple though, right?”
Alongside the two pop stars, Danny Dyer also shocked fans after the ITV was forced to mute him as he went on an expletive-laden rant about Sir Keir Starmer. He used the banned word “c***,” and continued to swear whenever host Jack Whitehall dared to put the mic near him.
Ofcom complaints might just be part and parcel of Brits night, however, with hundreds of raging viewers being nothing new. Back in 2023, Sam Smith received 106 complaints alone for his performance of Unholy with pop diva Kim Petras.
In 2007, Russell Brand received 262 complaints for his very risque humour, while musician Dave saw over 300 Ofcom complaints logged against him in 2020 - with the watchdog rejecting the complaints in Dave’s case. Kanye West saw his own form of censure in 2015 when almost every single line in his performance ended with the N-word. Bosses tried to mute out his use of the word, meaning that the rapper’s performers ended up mute almost the whole way through.
