‘That was bullying!’ rant BGT fans as they slam show audience over Golden Buzzer move
FURIOUS Britain’s Got Talent fans have lashed out at the programme amid a ‘bullying’ storm with the show’s latest Golden Buzzer act.
Some viewers of the ITV talent contest have been left unhappy with the show’s live audiences and have accused them of bullying the judges in a shock move.
This year’s series of BGT has seen the judges admittedly break the rules with more Golden Buzzer’s being handed out than ever before.
It seems that ITV bosses have played on the chaos of new judge Bruno Tonioli not grasping the rules of the Golden Buzzer during his debut series last year.
Unaware of the audition process, Bruno initially pushed the Golden Buzzer mid-act rather than at the end of the feedback before going on to dish out a second despite only being to give out one.
This time around, it appears that for Bruno and fellow judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon the rule is no more.
But now, some fans have lashed out at the crowds for bullying the panel into dishing out Golden Buzzer’s at the drop of a hat.
Their comments come after Simon opted to hand out the honour of sailing straight to the live finals week to Japanese street dance act CyberAgent Legit.
CyberAgent Legit impressed with their moves and it was clear that the audience were bowled over by their dancing skills.
The judges seemed equally as thrilled but it was only when chants of “push the gold!,” echoed out from the crowd that Simon appeared to lean in to hit his buzzer.
Viewers have labelled the audience pressure as bullying with one fan stating: “Not keen on the crowd bullying the judges into the golden buzzer.”
Another appeared to agree that it was unjust as they wrote: “Japanese streetdance act is good but there’s not much new there.”
As another went on to say of the crowd: “The audience on #BGT are so cringe.”
CyberAgent Legit had already ruffled feathers after some fans threatened to call Ofcom after their performance.
Upset viewers claimed the show should be for British people because of its name and were unimpressed when Simon Cowell gave his Golden Buzzer to a professional Japanese dance act.
Despite there being no rules about where acts come from, some disgruntled fans took to X to complain.
One person moaned: “Did ITV get a group booking for a flight from Japan? Or is this Japan’s got Talent?
“Can Ofcom look at this like the trade descriptions act?! A very misleading name for a TV show!”
But despite criticism from some, others loved watching the acts perform, in particular Cyberagent Legit.
Asked why they were doing the show, they said: “We love Simon! That is why we are here… this is the biggest audition for us. Our dream is to perform around the world, if we won it would be amazing.”
The group – which features dancers between 20 and 28 – performed a routine choreographed to their own original music.
Simon said of the group: “This is the kind of act you want in a competition, it was really so good.
“And I could see how much time had gone into that, everyone in this theatre was rooting for you.”
BGT's Biggest Golden Buzzer Moments
BGT have handed out many Golden Buzzer's over the years, can you remember some of the most famous
- Loren Allred – Loren Allred, 32, from Brooklyn, New York jetted to London to audition after recording the vocals for The Greatest Showman. The stunning singer got a standing ovation and a Golden Buzzer from the judges as she delivered a stirring rendition of Never Enough from the popular film. Loren came out on stage and revealed to the judges they would have heard her voice many times before that moment. “I was hired to record the vocals for The Greatest Showman as a guide for the actors to know how to sing the songs,” she explained. Loren then revealed actress Rebecca Ferguson was so stunned with her singing that she decided to let her vocals be heard in the movie. “So she lip synced,” Loren said.
- Chicken Shed Theatre Company – Comprised of individuals aged between 5 and 37, the group was set up to welcome anyone irrespective of background in order to get up on stage and perform and fulfil their dream. Chicken Shed pride themselves on accepting anyone and do not hold auditions in order to make the group a safe and inclusive space. The group wowed as they performed Wonder by Naughty Boy featuring Emeli Sande. It meant that Alesha wasted no times as she decided to hit her golden buzzer for the young performers. She told them it was her “honour” to reward their inclusiveness with her golden buzzer.
- The Dancing Granny – Granny Paddy Jones and her professional partner Niko Espinosa first hit headlines when they won Spanish talent show Tú sí que vales in 2009, before going on to appear on Britain’s Got Talent in 2014 where they came ninth. Amanda Holden was so impressed with Paddy that she gave her the Golden Buzzer, which sent them straight through to the semi finals. But things took a worrying turn when Paddy cracked a rib while rehearsing a new move and her place on the show was under doubt. She was given the all clear to perform in the end, but didn’t quite live up to expectations.
- Bars and Melody – They will forever be remembered for their anti-bullying song on the talent show. Bars and Melody were first seen on the 2014 series of Britain’s Got Talent, getting shuttled into the semi-finals when Simon Cowell pressed his Golden Buzzer. They made it to the final thanks to a performance of I’ll Be Missing You, but lost out on the crown to Collabro. These days Charlie Lenehan – known as Melody – is covered in tattoos, with inkings on his neck, arms and chest. But he is as close as ever to co-star Leondre Devries – who is Bars – with the pair seen enjoying themselves in exotic locations all over the world.