BBC upholds complaints over racial slur in Baftas broadcast
BBC Confirms Racial Slur in Bafta Broadcast Violated Editorial Standards
In February, during the Bafta Film Awards, a racial slur was uttered by a Tourette’s advocate while actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were hosting a segment. The incident occurred involuntarily and was not removed from the delayed TV broadcast on BBC One, which aired two hours later. The ceremony remained accessible on iPlayer until the following day, sparking widespread criticism.
The BBC’s executive complaints unit (ECU) has determined that the inclusion of the n-word in the broadcast breached the corporation’s standards. Chief content officer Kate Phillips stated that the ECU concluded the word should not have been aired and was a clear violation of editorial guidelines. However, she emphasized the breach was unintentional, noting the team was unaware of the slip at the time.
“The ECU found that the n-word in the broadcast was highly offensive, lacked editorial justification, and represented a breach of our standards,” Phillips said. “Yet, the mistake was not deliberate.”
ECU’s Assessment of the Broadcast and iPlayer Delay
The ECU received numerous complaints about the BBC’s coverage and upheld those linked to harm and offense. It also identified the extended availability of the unedited recording on iPlayer as a “serious mistake.” The report noted that the overnight presence of the unfiltered content intensified the impact of the inadvertent slur.
Phillips explained that the production team missed the n-word during the event and therefore did not remove it from the broadcast. She added that the team later correctly edited the word out in a subsequent instance, following protocols established beforehand. The delay in taking the recording down from iPlayer was attributed to uncertainty about the word’s audibility.
“The lack of clarity around the word’s presence in the recording led to a delay in removing it from iPlayer,” Phillips stated. “The ECU highlighted this as a significant error that worsened the effect of the unintentional inclusion.”
Public Reaction and Calls for Accountability
The incident caused a major backlash. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy described the broadcast as “completely unacceptable and harmful,” while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called it a “horrible mistake.” Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson criticized the BBC for not preventing his slip from being aired and questioned the microphone placement during the event.
Following the controversy, Bafta ceremony host Alan Cumming issued an apology, acknowledging the trauma caused by the broadcast. Phillips reiterated that the BBC must refine its processes to prevent such errors, announcing measures to enhance pre-event planning, live production, and iPlayer content removal protocols.
