The BBC Gives Its Side of the BAFTA Story: 'Genuine Error'

"BBC director-general Tim Davie said the BBC "profoundly regrets" the inclusion of the N-word in the broadcast of this year's BAFTAs, which he characterized as unintentional and the result of a "genuine error." Davie claims that no one in the on-site broadcast truck heard John Davidson, the activist with Tourette's, shout a racial slur while Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were onstage during the February 22 awards ceremony."

"Davie said the team did hear a second racial slur that was shouted less than ten minutes afterward when Wunmi Mosaku won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress and "immediately" edited it out. Davie suggested that this ended up being a source of miscommunication, explaining that the edit team mistakenly believed they had edited out the incident that was being referenced."

"That still doesn't explain why the outburst remained on BBC's iPlayer streaming service for 15 hours after the ceremony, especially considering that clips of the incident were discussed in articles and on social media the night of the awards show. The BBC acknowledged it is looking into why the team did not ascertain sooner that there had been two instances of the racial slur."

BBC director-general Tim Davie sent a letter to a U.K. government committee expressing profound regret over the broadcast of a racial slur during the February 22 BAFTAs ceremony. The slur was shouted by activist John Davidson with Tourette's while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were onstage. Davie stated that no one in the broadcast truck heard the outburst, so no editorial decision was made to remove it from the delayed broadcast. However, the team did hear and immediately edited out a second racial slur shouted minutes later. Davie suggested this second incident caused miscommunication, with the editing team mistakenly believing they had already removed the first instance. The BBC acknowledged failing to identify both incidents promptly and did not remove the content from iPlayer for 15 hours despite social media discussion.

Read at Vulture