BAFTA Ignored Warner Bros. Plea to Cut Racial Slur From Broadcast

Well, well, well. It just keeps getting worse for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the BBC.

According to Variety, executives at Warner Bros. moved fast on Sunday night after Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson made an involuntary racial slur while Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the first award of the evening. The ceremony was on a time delay. There was room to act. And act they did. That’s not speculation. That’s a source described by Variety as well-positioned. The outlet also reports:

“Execs from the studio immediately raised the issue with BAFTA and requested that the incident be removed from BBC’s time-delayed broadcast going out later that night…The Warner Bros. execs — who were in contact with BAFTA throughout Sunday evening and met with them on Monday — had been assured that the request had been passed on. However, the broadcast aired with the racial slur not edited out.”

So let’s pause. There was a two-hour delay. The studio flagged it. They were allegedly assured the message had been relayed. And yet the slur aired anyway.

BBC Producers Say They Didn’t Know — But The Edits Tell A Different Story

The BBC later claimed producers were unaware of what was said until after transmission. But if Warner Bros. raised concerns in real time, that explanation collapses under its own weight. People in the room heard it. Studio executives responded immediately. Many viewers have rightly questioned how something audible in the ceremony space somehow failed to reach television producers during a delayed broadcast.

Meanwhile, other moments did not survive the edit.

Actor Akinola Davies Jr.’s “Free Palestine” remark during his win for Outstanding British Debut was reportedly cut from the telecast. In a separate clip shared by BBC News of Paul Thomas Anderson’s speech, profanity was either bleeped or removed entirely for social platforms and YouTube uploads. So editing was possible. It was happening. Which makes this choice stand out even more.

Late Monday, BAFTA released a statement taking “full responsibility” and apologising “unreservedly” to Jordan and Lindo, thanking them for their “incredible dignity and professionalism.” The apology came after outrage had already ignited. After viewers had already processed what they heard. After the damage was done. And that’s the point.

Two-Hour Delay And Still No Edit Who Made That Call

This wasn’t a live, uncontrollable moment slipping through in chaos. This was a delayed broadcast. A flagged issue. A direct request from the film’s studio. If other remarks could be removed, why was this one preserved?

Many are asking whether the controversy itself became the story they wanted. The talking point. The viral clip. Good press, bad press, but press nonetheless. It’s hard not to notice that global scrutiny has been circling British institutions lately. And then this happens.

Let’s be clear about something. A neurological condition can explain an outburst. It does not erase impact. What viewers are questioning is not the existence of Tourette’s. They’re questioning editorial judgment. Leadership. Priorities.

On the night, BAFTA asked the public for “understanding.” But who was safeguarding Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo? And what about the Black viewers worldwide who watched two Black men absorb the shock of hearing the N-word live, with no context and no immediate, adequate apology from BAFTA?

Warner Bros. reportedly tried. And still, the slur aired. Two-hour delay. Direct instruction. No edit.

People often criticise American media standards, but in the United States the Federal Communications Commission has the authority to fine broadcasters for airing indecent or offensive language on public airwaves. Networks have historically faced significant penalties for profanity or explicit content, which tends to make U.S. broadcasters cautious during delayed live events.

Instead, what this moment suggests is something more unsettling: that BBC producers found space to censor political speech, found time to trim profanity, but somehow could not remove a racial slur aimed at two Black presenters.

Don’t attack the afflicted. Question the decision-makers. Because at the end of the day, the choice to air it wasn’t involuntary.