EXCLUSIVE: BAFTA raised an alarm with the BBC about Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson‘s involuntary racial slur during Sunday’s film awards, sparking further questions about how the incident ended up being broadcast.
Five days on from the Royal Festival Hall ceremony, a clearer picture is starting to emerge about the communications that went on behind the scenes after Davidson’s verbal tics resulted in him shouting the N-word at Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo.
BAFTA has pieced together its version of events and has spent this week explaining its position to parties involved in the incident. The arts charity has determined that one of its representatives made the BBC and producers at Penny Lane TV aware of the racial slur immediately after it occurred, according to a person familiar with the matter. “The BBC knew what happened,” said the source.
BAFTA’s position is that once the alarm was raised, it was the BBC’s responsibility to ensure that the ceremony — which was recorded on a two-hour time delay — complied with UK broadcasting rules relating to offensive language.
The BBC has launched an expedited editorial review into what took place, meaning the UK broadcaster has yet to explain why Davidson’s intervention was not caught and cut. Sources at the BBC and Penny Lane have said, however, that the slur wasn’t heard in the outside broadcast truck, and was therefore missed before broadcast.
It is possible that there was confusion behind the scenes about which of Davidson’s Tourette’s tics needed to be cut. He shouted a racial slur at least twice, with BBC content chief Kate Phillips telling staff that the second of these interruptions was removed from the tape. Producers may have felt that the edit addressed BAFTA’s compliance warning, particularly because the slur directed at Jordan and Lindo was less audible, though this has yet to be confirmed.
The BBC’s review should cast further light, though it is not clear at this point whether BAFTA officials will be asked to provide evidence. A BBC spokesperson declined to comment beyond a statement issued earlier in the week, which said: “The BBC has been reviewing what happened at BAFTA on Sunday evening. This was a serious mistake and the director-general has instructed the Executive Complaints Unit to complete a fast-tracked investigation and provide a full response to complainants.”
BAFTA has been approached for comment. Jane Millichip, the charity’s CEO, has apologized for the events of Sunday evening, telling members earlier this week that a “comprehensive review is underway.” Millichip spoke with Warner Bros. executives on the night, who raised grave concerns about the stars of Sinners hearing the N-word on-stage.
BAFTA Demanded iPlayer Removal
In addition to raising the alarm about the N-word on Sunday night, Deadline hears that BAFTA also spent Monday morning pleading with the BBC to remove the film awards from iPlayer. The show remained on the streaming service until nearly midday on Monday, despite the corporation being aware for hours that the slur was audible. A source said: “BAFTA asked the BBC repeatedly to take it down.”
The BBC’s sluggish response to removing the ceremony from iPlayer will likely fall under the scope of its review. An edited version of the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony has still not been reinstated to iPlayer as of Friday afternoon UK time.
Earlier on Friday, Deadline revealed that BBC chair Samir Shah was in the auditorium at the Royal Festival Hall but played no part in preventing Davidson’s involuntary N-word interruption from being broadcast. According to a source close to Shah, the chair was sat towards the back of the room, and while being aware of shouting and noise, he wasn’t clear what was being said.
The BBC has faced criticism from Davidson, with the campaigner telling Variety that it could have done more to stop his involuntary racial slur from airing. Lisa Nandy, the UK culture secretary, has also voiced concern, saying in a statement: “Broadcasting a racial slur is completely unacceptable and harmful. The BBC must ensure that this never happens again.”
