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The BBC has acknowledged that a racial slur was inadvertently broadcast during the Bafta Film Awards ceremony due to a “genuine mistake,” and it is currently investigating why the offensive content was not removed from its iPlayer platform more promptly. The incident occurred when John Davidson, a campaigner with Tourette’s syndrome, involuntarily uttered the slur while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo from the film *Sinners* were presenting an award. Although the ceremony was aired on BBC One with a two-hour delay, the slur was not edited out of the televised version and remained accessible on iPlayer until the following Monday morning.
Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, expressed deep regret over the incident, explaining that the editing team had not heard the word during their review and therefore did not make a deliberate choice to leave it in the broadcast. The racial slur was audible to both the audience at the event and some viewers at home, although the sound was somewhat muffled. Davie detailed in a letter to Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, that the live feed monitored by the on-site broadcast team did not capture the slur, meaning the team was unaware of its presence and did not remove it.
A second occurrence of the racial slur was reported within ten minutes, during Wunmi Wosaku’s acceptance speech for the best supporting actress award. This time, the editing team heard the slur and promptly removed it from the version of the ceremony later aired. However, confusion arose as the team mistakenly believed the slur they edited out was the same one reported by Bafta, leading them to think the matter had already been addressed. This misunderstanding contributed to the slur remaining on iPlayer overnight, despite being brought to wider attention by social media and journalists.
Davie further explained the delay in taking the ceremony off iPlayer, stating that the on-site team initially thought the slur was not audible in the broadcast feed and hence did not remove it immediately. After further discussions and escalation within the BBC, Editor-in-Chief Fran Unsworth (referred to here as “Phillips”) authorized the removal of the content from the streaming service. The BBC is investigating why the dual incidents were not properly identified sooner and why the post-broadcast response was delayed. The corporation has promised to learn from the episode and implement measures to prevent a recurrence.
Bafta has committed to conducting a thorough review of the situation. It has also issued a public apology, expressing regret for the harm caused and offering unreserved apologies to Michael B. Jordan, Delroy Lindo, and all those affected. Bafta praised the professionalism displayed by both actors during the distressing event and thanked Davidson for his dignity despite the difficulties he faced on what should have been a celebratory evening.
Host Alan Cumming described the incident as “trauma triggering” and criticized decisions made to broadcast harmful language while simultaneously infringing on free speech. Davidson himself has stated that the BBC could have done more to prevent the slur from being aired, noting that during the ceremony he involuntarily shouted numerous offensive terms due to his Tourette’s syndrome, though much media focus has been on the racial slur in particular.
The studio behind *Sinners*, Warner Bros, reportedly alerted Bafta immediately after the ceremony about the racial slur and requested its removal. Meanwhile, Delroy Lindo expressed disappointment that Bafta representatives had not reached out to the cast following the incident but mentioned that the *Sinners* team appreciated the support they received during a subsequent awards event
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