BBC's BAFTA Slur: Delayed Apology & Backlash

0:00It's March 6th, and here's what's happening across entertainment and pop culture. The BBC's outgoing director General Tim Davy has explained why a racial slur slipped into the broadcast of this year's BAFTA film awards. Almost two weeks ago, during the February 22nd ceremony, activist John Davidson, who has Tourette Syndrome, shouted at the slur from the audience while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented an award. The live feed was delayed by two hours, but editors missed this first outburst, and it aired on TV and stayed on BBC iPlayer for 15 hours. Davy wrote to a government committee chair expressing deep regret and taking full responsibility. He noted there were two similar incidents, just 10 minutes apart. The team caught and cut the second one, during one meme Osaka's best supporting actress win, but thought that covered both when reports came in. At the event host Alan Cumming apologized on stage, explaining the involuntary nature of Tourette's tics. Lindo later said neither he nor Jordan got any direct apology from BAFTA organizers.

1:03Davidson and BAFTA both issued statements stressing the slur was unintentional and expressing sorrow for the harm caused. Davy said no one in the broadcast truck heard the first slur on the live feed. The team believed it wasn't audible on air, so they didn't pull the iPlayer version until the next morning after higher ups got involved. Warner Brothers had flat concerns right away, but action was delayed. The BBC's complaints unit is now digging deeper with a report coming soon. The backlash keeps growing, sparking talks at other awards, and even a controversial sketch on Saturday Night Live. Special thanks to our sponsor for supporting this episode. Your pillow, your podcast, your moment, made for listening in bed, S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.