BBC Statement on Baftas Racial Slur Incident
The BBC has stated that the broadcast of a racial slur shouted during the Bafta Film Awards ceremony was due to a "genuine error" and is currently investigating why the offensive content was not removed from sooner.
Tourette's campaigner John Davidson involuntarily shouted a racial slur while actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo, stars of the series Sinners, were presenting one of the award categories.
The racial slur was not edited out of the television broadcast, which aired on BBC One with a two-hour delay, and the ceremony remained available on until Monday morning.
BBC Director General Tim Davie expressed profound regret over the incident, explaining that the editing team had not heard the offensive word and did not intentionally leave it in the broadcast.
"Our initial evidence gathering has found that no-one in the on-site broadcast truck heard this when they were watching the live feed," Davie wrote in a letter to Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
"Because no-one in the broadcast truck was aware it was on the live feed, there was therefore no editorial decision made to leave the language in."
The racial slur was audible to those attending the ceremony and to some viewers at home, although the sound quality was muffled.
Details on the Editing Process and Second Incident
Kate Phillips, the BBC's chief content officer, previously issued an apology and informed staff that a second racial slur heard by the production team had been successfully edited out of the broadcast.
Davie confirmed that the second instance of the racial slur occurred within ten minutes of the first, during the presentation of the best supporting actress award, when Sinners star Wunmi Wosaku was accepting her prize.
"In that instance, the edit team did hear the racial slur on the feed and removed it immediately from the version of the ceremony that would be broadcast later that evening," Davie said.
"It appears that soon after the second incident, the edit team in the truck started receiving reports, including from Bafta, that a racial slur had been shouted during the ceremony.
"Our understanding at this point is that the team editing the show in the truck mistakenly believed they had edited out the incident that was being referenced, on the basis that they had heard and edited out the slur shouted out during the best supporting actress award.
"Therefore, when they were told a racial slur had been shouted, they believed they had removed it."
Why the Ceremony Remained on
Davie addressed criticism regarding the ceremony's availability on until just before midday on Monday morning, despite the incident being noticed by journalists and viewers on the night of the event.
"Following broadcast on BBC One, further reports, including on social media, drew attention to the first instance of the racial slur," he acknowledged.
"Our current understanding is that the on-site team did not believe that the slur was audible on the broadcast, and the show remained on unedited that evening."
He added that there were "further discussion about the incident overnight" before the matter was escalated to Phillips, who authorized the removal of the ceremony from .
"We are now looking in more detail why the team did not ascertain sooner that there had been two instances of the use of the racial slur, and why post-broadcast further action was not taken to edit or remove the programme from sooner," Davie said.
Bafta's Response and Apologies
In a statement following the ceremony, Bafta acknowledged the harm caused by the incident and issued an apology.
"Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage at the time, and we apologise unreservedly to them, and to all those impacted. We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism."
Bafta also thanked John Davidson for his "dignity and consideration of others, on what should have been a night of celebration for him."
Reactions from Ceremony Host and John Davidson
Ceremony host Alan Cumming described the event as "trauma triggering," adding:
"We were all let down by decisions made to both broadcast slurs and censor free speech."
In a post-ceremony interview, Davidson stated that the BBC should have "worked harder to prevent anything that I said" from being broadcast.
He also revealed that he shouted approximately ten different offensive words during the ceremony due to his tics, but media coverage has focused primarily on the racial slur.
Additional Context and Industry Response
Warner Bros, the studio behind Sinners, reportedly alerted Bafta almost immediately after the racial slur was shouted and requested its removal from the broadcast.
Delroy Lindo expressed regret that no one from Bafta spoke to the cast afterward and noted at a recent awards ceremony that the Sinners team "appreciated the support" they had received.
