With N-word incident, Bafta have shot themselves in the foot | Catherine Shoard

"Bafta's error was big on Sunday night - but it was in the editing, or the lack of. No one could have stopped John Davidson - who has Tourette syndrome - yelling out the N-word while two black actors, Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo, were presenting a prize. But given that they did use the two-hour time delay to judiciously remove Akinola Davies Jr's shout of Free Palestine!"

"Not least because it inevitably overshadows what should have been the big story: #BaftasSoWhite can (probably) be put to bed. As a reminder: the hashtag trended most critically in 2020, when no nominees of colour were up for any acting awards, leading to a massive overhaul of Bafta's rules, regulations and membership demographic. Few organisations have done such radical work the Oscars and certainly the Globes stagger way behind yet few are still so perennially lambasted for choices that their members persist in sticking to."

"Bafta's backstage interventions generally only work as far as the longlist stage, when they can ensure gender parity in the director category; when it gets to the shortlists they can only look on as their members opt once again for a cluster of straight white men. (Again, not necessarily their fault either, for the voters are merely the final gatekeepers for whatever the film industry has released that year.)"

Broadcasters used a two-hour delay to remove Akinola Davies Jr's 'Free Palestine!' shout and Alan Cumming's political comparison, yet they left John Davidson's involuntary utterance of the N-word on air. John Davidson has Tourette syndrome, which caused the outburst during two Black actors' presentation. The televised slur overshadowed visible progress on representation, including Wunmi Mosaku's supporting actress win and recognition for Ryan Coogler. The #BaftasSoWhite controversy that peaked in 2020 prompted major rule and membership changes at BAFTA, improving demographics, though shortlist voting still tends to favor straight white men.

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