UK Edition
Britain's Got Talent star Ali Rasul warned over online posts
Ali Rasul, who wowed Britain's Got Talent viewers last night after a dance routine performed with his partner Grace Durkin, has received a warning from the show's bosses after a racially insensitive post was discovered on his Twitter account.
The post in question, which was shared online last November and, at the time of writing, has not been deleted, features an image of a black woman shopping, along with the words "it's black Friday".
Rasul has also been warned over making derogatory comments about women online, as his pasts posts include terms such as "slag", and a complaint about female behaviour during menstruation.
However, due to the fact that Rasul is only 16, the producers have decided not to take the matter any further, The Sun reports.
“It’s not only a huge embarrassment for Ali, it’s a massive embarrassment for the show too, but producers decided on this occasion to give him the benefit of the doubt and leave him with a warning because he’s only 16," a source told the newspaper.
“But they will not tolerate contestants using this kind of language as above all BGT celebrates diversity.”
Prime Minister Theresa May recently spoke about plans to introduce a law to protect young people from unwise past social media use, pledging to make it possible for people to ask social media companies to wipe material posted online before the age of 18.
While Grace & Ali were not voted through to the Britain's Got Talent final last night, they were in third position, and, thanks to their popularity with the judges, who described their performance as "stunning", there is still a chance that they could make it through as the one additional wildcard act.