“I’m so sorry that a racial slur was not edited out of our broadcast,"
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A senior BBC executive has apologised to staff saying the corporation understands “how distressing” it was that a racial slur was shouted during an appearance at the BAFTA film awards and not edited out of the broadcast.
The N-word, shouted by Tourette's activist John Davidson, was heard during the ceremony while black actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo took to the stage to present their award.
The BBC has come under fire for what critics have described as an "utterly unforgivable" handling of the outburst, which was kept in the corporation's pre-recorded broadcast of the event at London's Royal Festival Hall on Sunday.
Chief Content Officer Kate Phillips has since apologised to staff following the furore.
She wrote in a note: “I wanted to write to you following Sunday’s Bafta Film Awards.
“I’m so sorry that a racial slur was not edited out of our broadcast. We understand how distressing this was. Award attendees were pre-warned about the possibility of involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette Syndrome at the start of the show, and Alan Cumming addressed it during the broadcast. Of course, this doesn’t lessen the impact and upset."
She added that the edit team removed another racial slur from the broadcast, but claimed this one was "aired in error".
"We would never have knowingly allowed this to be broadcast," Ms Phillips claimed.
She added: “We take full responsibility for what happened. When I was made aware it was audible on iPlayer, I asked for it to be taken down. As I’m sure you’re aware we put out a statement yesterday morning apologising that the remark was not edited out prior to broadcast.
“I wrote to our Embrace network colleagues yesterday and am grateful for their thoughtful responses to me. Please know that you can reach out to me, or to any member of our ExCo team, if you’d like to talk further about this.”
“Again, I am so very sorry for the distress caused.”
It comes hours after a BAFTA judge Jonte Richardson, 54, stepped down over the incident.
He has chosen to withdraw from BAFTA's emerging talent judging panel in the wake of the body's handling of the outburst, saying: "The BAFTA apology is considerably better than the BBC mumbled sidestepping".
The BBC was forced to apologise after airing the racial slur and has apologised for “any offence caused”.
A film based on Davidson’s life, titled ‘I Swear’, won several awards during Sunday night’s show, including Brit Robert Aramayo winning leading actor for his portrayal of the activist.
Sinners’ stars Jordan and Lindo did not react to the involuntary tic, but the moment prompted fury online.
Viewers of the ceremony were quick to point out the BBC had two hours to edit the outburst from the broadcast before the ceremony was aired to millions around the world.
The incident saw BAFTA host Alan Cumming forced to issue an apology to BAFTA attendees after the outburst.
