ITV BGT ‘fix’ row explodes as fans fume Bruno Tonioli ‘should be ashamed’ over Golden Buzzer decision: ‘Woke fixed c**p!’
Bruno Tonioli has found himself at the centre of a rather fiery row among Britain’s Got Talent viewers thanks to his Golden Buzzer decision during Saturday’s semi-final.
As has become the norm for the 2025 series, each live show sees one of the four judges given the Golden Buzzer responsibility, meaning they can send any act straight to the final without facing the public vote.
Simon Cowell sparked controversy last week when he sent young guitarist Olly Pearson, 11, straight through while Amanda Holden was the first judge of the series to be given the honour.
On Saturday, Tonioli had to choose between Albert Amores, Bao Cuong, Electric Umbrella, Harry & Lewis, Jasmine Rice Labeija, Mickey Callisto, Ping Pong Pang, and RuMac to smash his buzzer for.
Dance act Harry & Louis opened the show but didn’t do enough to earn Tonioli’s Golden Buzzer. Instead, they were on the receiving end of some rather “rude” comments by Holden, which sparked a fierce debate among fans.
Tonioli kept hold of his Golden Buzzer responsibility until drag performer Jasmine Rice took to the stage, where they belted out a rendition of Never Enough from the circus-themed musical The Greatest Showman.
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Applause erupted in the studio, and before he knew it, Tonioli was being drowned out by chants from the crowd urging him to smash the buzzer.
And it wasn’t just the audience members who were encouraging him as Holden and Cowell began pleading with Tonioli to send Jasmine straight to the finale.
“That was outstanding,” Tonioli tried to say as the chants continued to drown him out. “What do you think?”
As he continued to gee up the crowd, Tonioli repeatedly asked: “What do you think?! What do you think?!”
By this point, an animated Holden had left her seat and began to frantically gesture towards the Golden Buzzer.
“Yes, go on!” Holden yelled while Cowell shouted directly into his microphone: “Yes!”
Eventually, following some heavy persuasion from those around him, Tonioli reached across the desk and smashed the Golden Buzzer.
Jasmine Rice was blown away by the gesture as Tonioli began to hug his fellow judges. However, viewers at home didn’t exactly share the former Strictly star’s enthusiasm for his decision.
Taking to X, several voiced their dismay towards the decision, with many, while acknowledging it was a solid performance from the singer, felt it was far from a Golden Buzzer-worthy rendition.
Others were left disappointed that yet another singer had made it through to the final and took issue with the pressure from Holden and Cowell towards Tonioli.
All of these factors combined prompted some fans to claim the BGT result was “fixed”. “#Bgt I could have told you Jasmin would get golden buzzer. Woke fixed c**p!” fumed one viewer.
A second also picked up on some choice words from Tonioli: “Bruno saying he was forced to press the buzzer #BGT.”
“#BGT Bruno pressed the golden buzzer to an act he knows and encouraged to enter? Corruption is still going strong,” a third claimed.
And a fourth raged: “WTF Bruno. Should be ashamed to be a judge. You don’t know what you’re doing. #BGT.”
“@BGT Bruno’s Golden buzzer was decided before the show even started,” a fifth claimed before another hit out: “We don’t need all these singers for the final, p**s off to The Voice ffs #BGT.”
Despite the naysayers, Jasmine Rice didn’t let any negativity stop them from celebrating when they returned to social media soon after the show.
Replying to the show’s official announcement on its Instagram page, the singer wrote: “This was a dream come true and the best moment of my life [crying emoji], thank you all for the love.”
And in a behind-the-scenes video, she said to fans: “I made it! I feel like there are so many – I never thought that this would come true.
“Believe in your dreams. Continue on. Be who you are and be to the fullest. Amen. I thought I was in a dream, I thought, ‘Oh, I need to wake up!’ This is just so incredible.
“I’m gonna go and get another English breakfast. I know it’s night, but I love it. Give me the bread and the beans. You can look forward to more extravaganza, the fabulosity, and the fabulosity of Labeija!”