BBC chief apologises for “distressing” racial slur incident at Baftas in email to staff
BBC content chief Kate Phillips has apologised to staff for the “distressing” racial slur incident at the Baftas in an email, the broadcasting corporation has confirmed.
During the television broadcast, the BBC did not cut John Davidson, the inspiration for I Swear, who suffers from Tourette’s with coprolalia, shouting the N-word in the direction of Sinners stars Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan.
The BBC later removed the recorded broadcast from iPlayer and apologised for airing the incident.
In an initial statement, issued on February 23rd, the BBC explained that it “arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome” and apologised for not editing it out of the broadcast.
In an email to staff, addressing the incident, Phillips wrote (via BBC News) on February 24th, “I’m so sorry that a racial slur was not edited out of our broadcast. We understand how distressing this was.”
Phillips continued, “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.”
She also revealed that the “edit team removed another racial slur from the broadcast” and maintained that the one directed at Lindo and Jordan “was aired in error and we would never have knowingly allowed this to be broadcast”.
The BBC official added, “We take full responsibility for what happened. When I was made aware it was audible on iPlayer, I asked for it to be taken down.”
The email from Phillips to BBC staff comes after Dawn Butler MP, who represents the Brent East constituency in North London, penned an open letter to the broadcasting corporation’s general director, Tim Davie.
Butler wrote that the BBC “could have prevented” it from being aired due to the two-hour delay and deemed it “disappointing that this language was not removed prior to transmission, particularly when other content was edited out”, referencing Akinola Davies Jr’s part of his speech calling for a “free Palestine,” which was omitted.
According to BBC News, it is believed that producers overseeing the television broadcast were operating from a truck and didn’t hear the involuntary remark from Davidson.
Davidson broke his silence on the incident on February 23rd, stating, “I can only add that I am, and always have been deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning.”
Additionally, Bafta issued a lengthy statement, which, in part, reads, “We apologise unreservedly to [Jordan and Lindo], and to all those impacted. We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism.”
Lindo had previously said that he was disheartened that nobody “from Bafta spoke to us afterward”.
Meanwhile, Bafta judge Jonte Richardson has stepped down over their “utterly unforgivable” handling of the situation.
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