Britain’s Got Talent bosses have insisted that no offence was intended after a man called Jim appeared dressed as a crow to perform a dance routine.
While 63-year-old Jim Fitzpatrick, who auditioned in a home-made crow costume, was not referred to as Jim Crow at any point in the show, some viewers made a connection with the laws that enforced racial segregation in the US.
A spokesperson for BGT told Metro.co.uk: ‘At no point during his audition was Jim Fitzpatrick referred to as Jim Crow.
‘No offence was intended with the performance and BGT is proud to be a diverse and inclusive show, amplified through moments like the BAFTA award winning Diversity performance shown in the last series.’
Jim had appeared on multiple previous series of Britain’s Got Talent, dressed as a cat, a boat and an alien in 2017, dancing for the judges.
He returned in 2018 dressed as a grandfather clock, and 2019 saw him don a disco-themed outfit with a full mask yet again.
For 2022’s show Jim the dancer, as he is also known, had fashioned an elaborate home-made costume of a human-sized crow, completely covering him from head to toe, before being given four ‘nos’ from the judges.
Although the connection was purely coincidental, his name and his outfit being a crow made some viewers make the connection to Jim Crow.
The laws, which existed in the Southern US states, enforced racial segregation in the late 19th century.Â
The phrase is thought to have originated from ‘Jump Jim Crow’, a song and dance caricature performed by white actor Thomas D. Rice in blackface, which first surfaced in 1828.
As a result of the singer’s fame, the term Jim Crow became a pejorative expression by 1838.Â
