It took outcry, 15 hours for BBC to remove slur from BAFTA broadcast - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

by Lorraine Ali

February 26, 2026

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The BAFTA Awards ceremony in London was disrupted when John Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome and inspired the film *I Swear*, involuntarily blurted out the N-word during a presentation by actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo. The British Broadcast Company (BBC), which aired the event with a two-hour delay, initially failed to remove or bleep the slur from its broadcast or online platform, despite knowing about the outcry it caused. It took 15 hours for the BBC to finally remove the offensive content from iPlayer. The BBC claimed the incident was “aired in error” and emphasized that they would never intentionally allow such language to be broadcast. However, this explanation fell short of addressing the broader issue: the N-word is not just a word—it carries the weight of systemic racism and historical trauma tied to Jim Crow-era oppression. The film *Sinners*, which Lindo and Jordan were presenting, depicts Black individuals enduring daily racism in 1950s Mississippi, highlighting how the slur continues to demean and dehumanize. BAFTA issued a tepid apology for putting the actors in an “incredibly difficult situation” but failed to acknowledge the harm caused by the slur or adequately support the targeted individuals. Meanwhile, another incident involving a director’s call to “free Palestine” being removed

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Originally published on Los Angeles Times on 2/26/2026