BBC Issues Apology After Slur Interrupts Michael B. Jordan & Delroy Lindo’s BAFTA Presentation [Video]

The BBC is facing backlash following a significant editing oversight during the BAFTA Film Awards. Despite the ceremony airing on a two-hour tape delay, a racial slur made it into the final broadcast, leading the network to issue a public apology and pull the footage from its streaming services for correction. The BBC has apologized for not editing out a racial slur from the BAFTA Film Awards‘ tape-delayed broadcast and will now remove it from the version of the ceremony on iPlayer.

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The incident occurred as actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were walking onto the stage to present the award for Best Visual Effects. The outburst came from John Davidson, a Tourette syndrome campaigner who was seated in the audience during the ceremony and is himself the subject of the biopic “I Swear.” Davidson’s condition causes him to produce involuntary vocal tics, one of which, the N-word, occurred as actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo took the stage to hand out the prize for best visual effects, ultimately won by “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”

While the ceremony was live for those in the building, the televised version was supposed to be vetted for any inappropriate content before reaching millions of homes. After pulling the BAFTA Film Awards from iPlayer early Monday afternoon, a BBC spokesperson said: “Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards. This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and as explained during the ceremony, it was not intentional. We apologize that this was not edited out prior to broadcast, and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.”

The lapse in editing has raised questions about the network’s internal review process, especially given the lengthy window between the live event and the airing. Although the remark was barely audible amid the noise of the ceremony, it was picked up in the BBC’s coverage.

What drew particular scrutiny was the fact that the broadcast operated on a two-hour tape delay before airing on BBC One and iPlayer, a buffer that editors would ordinarily use to catch and remove exactly this kind of material. The network is now working to ensure the cleaned-up version of the prestigious awards show is the only one available for public viewing.