{"id":5109,"date":"2026-02-25T19:36:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T19:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/02\/25\/bbc-orders-quick-investigation-into-bafta-broadcast-slur\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T19:36:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T19:36:52","slug":"bbc-orders-quick-investigation-into-bafta-broadcast-slur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/02\/25\/bbc-orders-quick-investigation-into-bafta-broadcast-slur\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC orders quick investigation into BAFTA broadcast slur"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>British broadcaster has apologised for failing to edit out a racial slur shouted by a guest with Tourette syndrome.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>The BBC said it will carry out a streamlined probe into its coverage of the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) after failing to censor a racial slur towards Black people.<\/p>\n<p>The British broadcaster, which aired the awards on a two-hour delay, announced the upcoming investigation on Wednesday after growing backlash over the incident.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/economy\/2026\/2\/24\/warner-bros-gets-new-offer-from-paramount-but-still-recommends-netflix-bid\">Warner Bros gets new offer from Paramount but still recommends Netflix bid<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/3\/french-authorities-raid-x-offices-summon-musk-in-cybercrime-probe\">French authorities raid X offices in Paris, summon Musk in cybercrime probe<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/12\/russia-bans-whatsapp-pushes-state-backed-alternative-max\">Russia bans WhatsApp, pushes state-backed alternative<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/18\/fcc-reject-claims-of-censorship-announces-probe-into-us-show-the-view\">FCC reject claims of censorship, announces probe into US show The View<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The slur was shouted out by a guest <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/video\/newsfeed\/2026\/2\/23\/tourette-syndrome-campaigner-shouts-slur-at-bafta-ceremony\">with Tourette syndrome<\/a> \u2013 a motor disorder that can cause repetitive sounds, including inappropriate language \u2013 as two Black actors presented an award.<\/p>\n<p>The guest, activist John Davidson, was the real-life inspiration behind a BAFTA-nominated film, I Swear, that promoted awareness about people with Tourette syndrome.<\/p>\n<p>The obscene language was heard in the final broadcast as well as on the BBC\u2019s streaming service until Monday morning.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"opposite-of-what-i-believe\">\u2018Opposite of what I believe\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Davidson said he \u201cfelt a wave of shame\u201d over what happened and is \u201cmortified\u201d \u2060if anyone mistook his involuntary tics as deliberate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want people to know and understand that my tics have absolutely nothing to do with what I think, feel or believe,\u201d Davidson said in an interview with Variety.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an involuntary neurological misfire. My tics are not an intention, not a choice and not a reflection of my values. What you hear me shouting is literally the last thing in the world I believe; it is the opposite of what I believe,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>The BBC said it was a \u201cserious mistake\u201d not to edit out the slur. Its Executive Complaints Unit was tasked with carrying out a \u201cfast-tracked investigation and provide a full response to complainants\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>BBC News reported producers monitoring the event, which removed another racial slur from the broadcast, did not hear a second slur. It quoted a note from the broadcaster\u2019s content chief, Kate Phillips, to staff: \u201cWe would never have knowingly allowed this to be broadcast.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Separately, the BBC <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/23\/bbc-criticised-for-nixing-free-palestine-tribute-from-bafta-coverage\">faced scrutiny for editing out part of a speech<\/a> by prize-winning filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr, who said, \u201cFree Palestine\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement to Deadline, a BBC spokesperson suggested the edit was made because of time constraints.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe same happened to other speeches made during the night and all edits were made to ensure the programme was delivered to time,\u201d said the unnamed spokesperson. \u201cAll winners\u2019 speeches will be available to watch via Bafta\u2019s YouTube channel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The BBC has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZjaEjI-G4CY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">previously faced criticism<\/a>\u00a0for coverage related to Israel and Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>In June last year, the BBC opted not to broadcast a documentary it commissioned about medical workers in Gaza over what it described as \u201cpartiality\u201d issues, a decision more than 100 of the broadcaster\u2019s own journalists petitioned against.<\/p>\n<p>The BBC was also previously accused of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/11\/23\/bbc-accused-of-censoring-acts-of-gaza-solidarity-in-bafta-awards-coverage\">editing out pro-Palestinian displays<\/a>\u00a0during its coverage of the 2023 BAFTA Awards, including several appeals for a ceasefire in war-battered Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>British broadcaster has apologised for failing to edit out a racial slur shouted by a guest with Tourette syndrome. The BBC said it will carry out a streamlined probe into its coverage of the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) after failing to censor a racial slur towards Black people. The British broadcaster, which aired the &#8230; <a title=\"BBC orders quick investigation into BAFTA broadcast slur\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/02\/25\/bbc-orders-quick-investigation-into-bafta-broadcast-slur\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about BBC orders quick investigation into BAFTA broadcast slur\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}