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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Casey Cooper-Fiske

BBC breached standards by broadcasting Baftas racial slur

  • The BBC breached its editorial standards by broadcasting a racial slur during its coverage of the 2026 Bafta Film Awards, an investigation by the Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) found.
  • Disability campaigner John Davidson, who has Tourettes, shouted the slur as actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented an award.
  • Its inclusion in the BBC’s broadcast was “highly offensive” and “had no editorial justification”, the ECU said, but added that it was unintentional.
  • The ECU also criticised a “serious mistake” in the several-hour delay to remove the slur from the iPlayer version of the coverage, due to a lack of clarity among the production team.
  • The BBC's chief content officer issued letters of apology to Jordan, Lindo, and Davidson following the incident.

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