How BBC Missed The Racial Slur That Could Define The 2026 BAFTA Film Awards
In the build-up to the BAFTA Film Awards, Deadline revealed how the BBC was desperate to avoid repeating the Glastonbury Festival meltdown that followed Bob Vylan's "death to the IDF" chant. A few days on, and the British national broadcaster finds itself firefighting an issue that has echoes of events on Worthy Farm.
On a night of triumph for Sinners and I Swear , the two films unexpectedly collided during the ceremony, with unfortunate fallout for all involved. Early in the evening, Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo took to the stage to present the award for Best Visual Effects. As they spoke, John Davidson, a man who has dedicated his life to helping others with Tourette syndrome, was sitting in the audience.
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Davidson, the subject of biopic I Swear , involuntarily shouted the N-word at Jordan and Lindo. Tourette's means Davidson cannot control his verbal tics — a reality captured in Robert Aramayo's portrayal of the Scottish disability campaigner — and Jordan and Lindo were not the only presenters to be the subject of his interruptions. The actors looked momentarily stunned, but maintained professionalism, awarding the VFX prize to Avatar: Fire and Ash .
Sources told Deadline that Davidson later removed himself from the auditorium, though he was backstage to congratulate Aramayo when he won Best Leading Actor. Those close to the campaigner said the incident spotlighted his "exhausting condition." Equally, Sinners production designer Hannah Beachler noted her discomfort at what took place (including a personal experience with Davidson), describing it as an "impossible situation."
Their unease would later be compounded by the BBC. The BAFTA Awards are screened on British television on a two-hour time delay, meaning producers at Penny Lane TV have time to edit the ceremony before broadcast. However, the BAFTA Film Awards went to air on Sunday night with Davidson's unintentional racial slur included. The N-word is not clearly audible, but the interruption is unmistakable when listening back knowing what was said.
John Davidson
The incident remained on iPlayer, the BBC's streaming service, until around 11.30AM local time on Monday — nearly 15 hours after it was first broadcast. The BBC apologized and eventually removed the ceremony to edit out the N-word . But how did it even get to this point?
Deadline has spoken to sources familiar with events on Sunday evening. The recollection of those involved is that Davidson's comment was not heard in the outside broadcast truck or in the auditorium during recording. Sources said representatives from the BBC, BAFTA, and Penny Lane in the OB truck were unaware of the N-word slur until the story started percolating in media reports and on social media. As many have pointed out, the BBC was alive enough to edit out a "free Palestine" plea from one winner, though the corporation insists that time constraints were the main consideration in cutting speeches.
Two Deadline journalists were in the room and clearly heard Davidson, almost immediately noting his comments in our WhatsApp group chat. The remark was not, however, intelligible in the media room, where the ceremony was streamed live. This suggests that it could have been possible for those in the OB truck to miss the slur, but it does not explain why nobody inside the Royal Festival Hall was able to alert producers about the incident in time for broadcast. If Deadline had real-time intelligence from inside the room, why not the BBC?
Warner Bros., the studio behind Sinners , has its own version of events. The company's position is that it raised forceful concerns with BAFTA representatives immediately after Jordan and Lindo's experience. Warner Bros. is understood to have asked BAFTA to ensure an edit was made to the BBC broadcast and received reassurances that a message would be relayed. A source said the company continued to make representations to BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip and chair Sara Putt at the dinner that followed the awards.
iPlayer Edit Delay
Then there was the delay in addressing the iPlayer stream. Deadline hears that there were back-to-back Zoom calls between the BBC, BAFTA, and other parties on Monday morning, with those involved scoping out a statement and a plan of action. That it took 15 hours to remove the awards from iPlayer raises questions for the BBC, which faced loud criticism for being sluggish in taking down the Bob Vylan Glastonbury set last year.
A BBC insider familiar with the conversations said it was a "very different" situation to Glastonbury, while another source pointed to it being a "highly sensitive" issue. Both stressed that there was no intention to broadcast the slur.
Michael B. Jordan in 'Sinners'
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 apologise that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer."
BAFTA issued a statement on Monday evening UK time. A spokesperson said: "At the BAFTA Film Awards last night our guests heard very offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many. We want to acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all.
"One of our guests, John Davidson MBE, has Tourette Syndrome and has devoted his life to educating and campaigning for better understanding of this condition. Tourette Syndrome causes involuntary verbal tics, that the individual has no control over. Such tics are in no way a reflection of an individual's beliefs and are not intentional. John Davidson is an executive producer of the BAFTA-nominated film, I Swear, which is based on his life experience.
"We take the duty of care to all our guests very seriously and start from a position of inclusion. We took measures to make those in attendance aware of the tics, announcing to the audience before the ceremony began, and throughout, that John was in the room and that they may hear strong language, involuntary noises or movements during the ceremony.
"Early in the ceremony a loud tic in the form of a profoundly offensive term was heard by many people in the room. Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage at the time, and we apologise unreservedly to them, and to all those impacted. We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism.
"During the ceremony, John chose to leave the auditorium and watch the rest of the ceremony from a screen, and we would like to thank him for his dignity and consideration of others, on what should have been a night of celebration for him.
"We take full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation and we apologise to all. We will learn from this, and keep inclusion at the core of all we do, maintaining our belief in film and storytelling as a critical conduit for compassion and empathy."
Davidson and I Swear 's producers have been approached for comment.
In the aftermath of the Glastonbury debacle, which piled huge pressure onto now-departing director general Tim Davie, the BBC changed its policy on "high-risk" music events, pledging that they will not be broadcast live. The BAFTA Film Awards show that, even with an anachronistic two-hour time delay, problematic content can still slip the net.
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