BAFTA has issued an unreserved apology following the broadcast of a racial slur during this year’s film awards ceremony, after an internal review found shortcomings in the organisation’s planning and live event procedures.
The incident occurred during the BAFTA Film Awards on 22 February, when disability campaigner John Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome, was heard shouting while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award.
Independent Review Finds Procedural Weaknesses at BAFTA
In a statement, BAFTA said an independent review into the incident identified “a number of structural weaknesses” in the organisation’s event planning, escalation procedures and crisis co-ordination arrangements.
However, the review found no evidence of malicious intent by those involved in producing the ceremony.
BAFTA’s board said: “We apologise unreservedly to the Black community, for whom the racist language used carries real pain, brutality and trauma, to the disability community, including people with Tourette syndrome, for whom this incident has led to unfair judgement, stigma and distress, and to all our members, guests and viewers at home.”
The academy added that a moment intended to celebrate film had been “diminished and overshadowed” by the incident.
BAFTA Says Diversity Goals Outpaced Event Planning
BAFTA acknowledged that while the incident was not caused by deliberate wrongdoing, its operational procedures had failed to keep pace with its diversity and inclusion ambitions.
“The review is clear that while this was not a failure of intent, BAFTA’s planning and processes have not kept pace with its diversity and inclusion goals,” the statement said.
“We did not adequately anticipate or fully prepare for the impact of such an incident in a live event environment and, as a result, our duty of care to everyone at the ceremony and watching at home fell short.”
The organisation said it had already begun implementing recommendations made by Rise Associates, which conducted the review, in an effort to reduce the risk of a similar incident at future ceremonies.
BBC Also Found to Have Breached Editorial Standards
The apology follows a separate investigation by the BBC, which concluded the broadcaster breached its own editorial standards by airing the slur during its live coverage of the awards.
The corporation’s Executive Complaints Unit said the inclusion of the offensive language was “highly offensive” and had “no editorial justification”, although it accepted that the broadcast was unintentional.
According to the BBC, the slur was removed from the version made available on BBC iPlayer after the ceremony. However, the broadcaster said several hours passed before the edit was made because of uncertainty among staff over whether the word was clearly audible in the recording.
The ECU described the delay as “a serious mistake”, stating there could be no certainty that the word would be inaudible to all viewers.
Apologies Sent to Those Involved
The BBC confirmed that its chief content officer has written to apologise to Davidson, Lindo and Jordan following the incident.
The controversy has prompted wider scrutiny of how live televised events are managed in the UK, particularly where accessibility and safeguarding considerations intersect with broadcast standards.
Conclusion
The incident has led both BAFTA and the BBC to review their procedures around live event broadcasting, with both organisations acknowledging failings in how the situation was handled. BAFTA says reforms are now under way as it seeks to restore confidence ahead of future awards ceremonies.
