Diversity's Jordan Banjo has hit back at criticism he received for getting a dog with cropped ears.
The dancer recently shared photos of his new pooch, Sergio, on Instagram, but fans were quick to point out that the dog had cropped ears.
Ear cropping is a procedure where part of the dog's ears are chopped off to either make them look more cute or fierce and is illegal in the UK under the Animal Welfare Act unless it's for medical purposes.
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"Please welcome the new addition to the Banjo clan SERGIO BANJO," the excited star wrote about the new arrival.
"Been a long time coming and it's been a bit crazy having to wait for the right time and right things to fall into place but here we are!"
But, after fans pointed out his mistake, Jordan took to Instagram stories to explain his side of the story.
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"I've tried to reply to a bunch of people, but there's too many and I guess it's good to reply to everyone and so people understand my position, hopefully people in my DMs still see this even if you don't follow me," he wrote in reply.
"I can't pretend to have known all of the information on cropped ears, I don't even want to pretend to be misinformed, to be blunt I didn't even think about it in the first instance.
He added: "I didn't get his ears cut, I didn't even import him, first time I saw Serg he was six months old.
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"Genuinely I appreciate the messages and it upsets me to think that Sergio or any dog goes through this purely to look 'cooler'.
"I turned the comments off because I started off getting comments and it was a shock because it hadn't even come into my head, I saw Sergio, saw his temperament, how he is as a character and fell in love with him and wanted him as part of my family.
"Now I feel awful, really wish it wasn't the case but now what do I do? I'm very rarely in the business of explaining myself but when I feel somethings wrong I'll hold my hands up!
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"Definitely wish his ears and had been left but now he's my dog now, not really sure what else I can say apart [from] I appreciate the messages and advice, thank you all for caring enough to say something and a lot of you in a very polite and educational way, and I hope I make better choices in regards to Serg in the future."
We're glad to hear it Jordan!
Jordan shot to fame when he appeared on Britain's Got Talent in 2009, as part of street dance troupe Diversity. The group went on to win the talent show, beating Susan Boyle in the final.
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