UK broadcaster, BBC, is facing backlash for the airing of a racial slur aimed at American actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo by Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson during the Baftas ceremony in what has largely been called “a failure in their duty of care.”
Following the backlash, the BBC says a racial slur was edited out of the Baftas ceremony before it was broadcast, but another one aired in error, the BBC’s chief content officer has said.
The shout was audible in the broadcast, which has since gone viral online.
BBC content chief Kate Phillips emailed staff on Tuesday, reiterating the BBC’s apology for it not being edited out of the broadcast, adding: “We understand how distressing this was.”
Phillips confirmed other instances of offensive language had been removed, telling staff: “The edit team removed another racial slur from the broadcast.”
In contrast, the slur shouted when Lindo and Jordan were on stage “was aired in error and we would never have knowingly allowed this to be broadcast”, she said.
The use of the N-word on any BBC television programme is very rare and usually requires sign-off from a channel controller.
The Bafta ceremony was shown on BBC One on a two-hour delay, with producers editing the show’s length to fit its two-hour broadcast slot.
According to the BBC, the producers overseeing the ceremony were doing so from a TV truck and simply did not hear the slur shouted when Lindo and Jordan were on stage. Davidson was not on mic or on stage at the time.
Phillips added: “Award attendees were pre-warned about the possibility of involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome at the start of the show, and [host] Alan Cumming addressed it during the broadcast.
“Of course, this doesn’t lessen the impact and upset.”
“We take full responsibility for what happened,” Phillips said. “When I was made aware it was audible on iPlayer, I asked for it to be taken down.”
Labour MP Dawn Butler previously asked director-general Tim Davie for an “urgent explanation” for what happened, saying the N-word “should never have been aired” and its broadcast was “painful and unforgivable”.
In a statement on Monday, Bafta said it acknowledged the “harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all”.
“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 Davidson for his “dignity and consideration of others, on what should have been a night of celebration for him”.
After the ceremony, Lindo told Vanity Fair that he and Jordan, who were handing out an award, “did what we had to do” as they carried on presenting, but also said he wished “someone from Bafta spoke to us afterwards”.
On Tuesday, Deadline reported that a representative from Warner Bros, the studio behind ‘Sinners’, which stars Lindo and Jordan, complained to Bafta within minutes of the slur being shouted and reportedly received assurances that their concerns would be passed on to the BBC.
In a letter to its members on Tuesday, the organisation said: “We are in contact with the studios involved and conversations are ongoing.”
Bafta also said it wanted to “assure all our members that a comprehensive review is underway”.
In a statement on Monday, Davidson said he was “deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning”.
“I have spent my life trying to support and empower the Tourette’s community and to teach empathy, kindness and understanding from others and I will continue to do so,” he said in a statement.
“I chose to leave the auditorium early into the ceremony as I was aware of the distress my tics were causing.”
